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8ac50f0b20bde47535050687f9200206 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/23/postseason-makes-arod-a-hot-collectible-again.html | Postseason Makes A-Rod A Hot Collectible Again | Postseason Makes A-Rod A Hot Collectible Again
New York Yankees Alex Rodriguez
You couldn't find people to buy Alex Rodriguez collectibles in February, after he was outed for using performance-enhancing drugs.
Seven months later, it's a complete reversal.
"It's an incredible comeback," said Bobby Mintz, vice president of sales and celebrity relations at Tri-Star Productions, a Houston-based sports collectibles company.
"March might have been the all-time low for A-rod," Mintz said.
"No one would even buy a signed baseball at $200. Now he might be at an all-time high. People are buying his autographed baseball for $500."
Maybe With All That Dough - A Rod Would Like One of These
Brandon Steiner, chairman of Steiner Sports, which has a joint venture with the Yankees, isn't willing to say A-Rod is at his collectibles peak, but part of that has to do the fact that the market itself is different from what it once was.
"He's definitely back in the collectibles market," said Steiner, who believes A-Rod's collectibles hit top dollar when he hit his 500th home run in August 2007.
Rodriguez hasn't signed much over the past couple years, mostly because executives at the collectibles companies believe he charges too much and therefore makes it too hard for them to earn their standard rate of return.
Questions? Comments? SportsBiz@cnbc.com
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b6c7ce423df56d3a44cff02fcb6ac576 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/23/prep-your-portfolio-for-next-week-stock-pickers.html | Prep Your Portfolio For Next Week: Stock Pickers | Prep Your Portfolio For Next Week: Stock Pickers
As investors look ahead to next week, Peter Andersen, portfolio manager at Congress Asset Management Company, and Robert Pavlik, chief market strategist at Banyan Partners, shared their best investment ideas.
“I think what you need to be doing is focusing in the early cyclicals going forward,” Pavlik told CNBC.
VIDEO0:0000:00Inside The Friday Trade
Pavlik’s Picks:
Cliff Natural—“The company’s seeing increased demand,” said Pavlik. “We have a $45 price target on the stock, which represents about a 20 percent upside.”
Corning—“The company recently suffered some disruption in Japanese manufacturing because of an earthquake,” he said.
“It took some supply off the market. So you’re seeing increased demand from computers, laptops and televisions, especially from China. We have a $25 price target on the stock, which represents about a 54 percent upside.”
Dow 30 Stocks—In Real Time Oil, Gold, Natural Gas Prices Now Where's the US Dollar Today?
Andersen’s Picks:
Crown Holdings—"It could support about a 3 percent dividend yield, which is very appealing,” Andersen said. “This is the time to buy because it’s down 10 percent.”
Warner Chilcott—"It has just bought P&G’s pharmaceutical operations and we think it will probably close to double its earnings in the next two years,” he said. “It has considerable upside going forward.”
More Market Intelligence:
Take Profits Now, Consolidation Coming: StrategistCharts Predict Upside Target of 11,600 for the DowFalling VIX a 'Very Bad Sign': Market Expert's Warning
______________________________CNBC Slideshows:
Financial Crisis: Where Are They Now?
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______________________________ Disclosures:
Pavlik has clients who own shares of CLF and GLW.
Anderson’s firm owns shares of CCK and WCRX.
______________________________
Disclaimer
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9a8f5e65a57a20fdb096c546af4b3021 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/23/profit-from-these-sin-stocks-finance-professor.html | Profit From These Sin Stocks: Finance Professor | Profit From These Sin Stocks: Finance Professor
According to research from New York University’s Stern School of Business, investors gain 2.5 percent a year investing in “sin stocks”—tobacco, alcohol and gambling. Marcin Kacperczyk, professor of finance at NYU Stern, explains the “price of sin” and how it may help investors boost their portfolios.
VIDEO0:0000:00Investing In Sin
“We are interested in the question whether social norms affect performance and economic markets in general,” Kacperczyk told CNBC.
“We found that over the long run, 60 to 70 years, those [sin stock] industries outperform by about 2.5 percent every year.”
Kacperczyk added that sin stocks generally pay higher dividends. He advised investors to buy into these stocks now if they want to make money.
“Apart from the crisis time, you could see really good returns for those stocks,” he said.
CNBC Data Pages:
Dow 30 Stocks—In Real Time New: 'Sector Watch' Data PageWhere's the US Dollar Today?
In addition to tobacco, alcohol and gambling stocks, Kacperczyk said the following may also be possibible areas for further research and consideration:
“Defense would be another candidate, although it matters which markets we’re looking at,” he said. “Some people talk about pornography, but we don’t see many stocks related to that, so it’s hard to see the story in the data.”
CNBC Slideshows:
Top States for Online Porn
Most Prominent “Sin Stocks”:
Altria Group
Lorillard
British American Tobacco
Anheuser-Busch
Diageo
Molson-Coors
Wynn Resorts
More Market Advice:
How to Invest in Financials: Laszlo Birinyi2010 Could be 'Very Good' for Transports: AnalystWhere to Invest Amid the Pessimism: Market Pros
______________________________
______________________________
Disclosure:
No immediate information was available for Kacperczyk.
______________________________
Disclaimer
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261c681c7f8ca692e4ba399d0971bbcb | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/23/programming-schedule-for-new-biography-on-cnbc-shows-all-times-are-et.html | Programming Schedule for New Biography on CNBC Shows (ALL TIMES ARE ET) | Programming Schedule for New Biography on CNBC Shows (ALL TIMES ARE ET)
November 19th at 10PM & 1AM: Biography on CNBC #7 - Rachel Ray
December 8th at 10PM & 1AM: Biography on CNBC #8 - Robert Maxwell
December 17th at 10PM & 1AM: Biography on CNBC #9 - Dave ThomasAbout CNBC:CNBC is the recognized world leader in business news, providing real-time financial market coverage and business information to more than 340 million homes worldwide, including more than 95 million households in the United States and Canada. The network's Business Day programming (weekdays from 5:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m. ET) is produced at CNBC's headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., and also includes reports from CNBC news bureaus worldwide. Additionally, CNBC viewers can manage their individual investment portfolios and gain additional in-depth information from on-air reports by accessing http://www.cnbc.com.Members of the media can receive more information about CNBC and its programming on the NBC Universal Media Village Web site at http://nbcumv.com/cnbc/.
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039a94d497d9bc0e3f0fc74c0329e301 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/23/public-option-back-on.html | Despite what you’ve heard, the public option might not be off the table after all.
On Friday House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that although details are still under discussion, “At the end of the day we will have a public option" in the House bill.”
And Pelosi went on to say the Senate might also include a public option in its final bill. As you may know, both the Senate and the House have approved multiple health reform bills that must now be molded into a final bill that can be approved by each chamber. The two bills will then have to be reconciled for final adoption.
According to a Reuters report, the public insurance option would be available in a government-sponsored marketplace for small businesses and people who do not get insurance through their employers.
What’s the trade?The rhetoric generates uncertainty, explains Joe Terranova and as a result I think the health care space is under-invested. Personally, I'd play it with a long position in Cigna .I have calls on Aetna , UNH and WellPoint, adds Karen Finerman..I’d look at Medco or Express Scripts, which should benefit no matter what the outcome, adds Gary Kaminsky, if only because more people will have access to health care.
The Fast Money traders spoke with Rep Paul Ryan (R-WI) about the latest GOP perspectives on reform. To hear what he has to say, watch the video now!
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Meanwhile, Wall Street is also closely watching moves made by the Obama administration concerning banker pay cuts.
Earlier in the week the Treasury outlined plans for the seven companies that have not paid back TARP money to make deep cuts to their top executives' compensation.
They are Bank of America , American International Group , Citigroup , General Motors, GMAC , Chrysler and Chrysler Financial.
VIDEO0:0000:00Off the Record
Companies that have repaid the bailout money, including Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan , are not affected.
The cuts apply to the 25 highest-paid executives, and according to published reports, their total compensation, including salaries and bonuses, will be cut
______________________________________________________Got something to to say? Send us an e-mail at fastmoney-web@cnbc.com and your comment might be posted on the Rapid Recap. If you'd prefer to make a comment but not have it published on our website send those e-mails to .CNBC.com with wires
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52885f197b343e06549776a117ac8c2b | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/23/retailers-paying-customers-to-bring-their-own-bags.html | Retailers Paying Customers to Bring Their Own Bags | Retailers Paying Customers to Bring Their Own Bags
Retailers are finding that the best way to get consumers to ditch plastic bags and go green is to give them money back.
Target and CVS are the latest retailers who are giving discount incentives to customers who bring in their own reusable bags instead of using the store's plastic bags. The move establishes them as green companies in the mind of consumers and reduces pollution caused by plastic bags.
Although smaller retailers have offered incentives in the past, CVS/pharmacy (with about 7,000 stores) and Target (about 1,700 stores) are the largest to do so.
“The general public wouldn’t think of them as green companies,” said Dr. Scott Testa, a business professor at Cabrini College in Philadelphia. “If CVS can differentiate itself and be looked at as the ‘green’ drug store then conceivably they’ll gain more customers.”
In order to participate, CVS/pharmacy customers will have to buy a tag (which costs 99 cents) to attach to their reusable bag and swipe it every time they bring it in. The tag is connected to the company's ExtraCare Rewards program. On every fourth visit, customers will earn a $1 Extra Care Buck that will print on their receipt and they can redeem for future purchases.
At Target, customers will get 5 cents off their bill for every reusable bag they use when they visit. The retailer piloted the program in 100 stores and counted a 58 percent increase in reusable bag use. The program officially begins in stores on November 1, 2009.
The Carbon Challenge - A CNBC Special Report - See Complete Coverage
Besides generating a greener image, marketing experts say the move could also help the companies save money by reducing plastic bag use. However, both companies say that money is not their motivation: “We wouldn’t be giving back extra bucks” if it was just about saving money, said Melissa Studzinski, director of relationship marketing at CVS.
“The savings is about the same amount as what we're rewarding our guests for the program,” said Target spokesperson Amy Reilly.
Tackling plastic bag use is a smart move for retailers, experts say, as disposable plastic bags have been a target of environmentalists and lawmakers for years. They say the bags take up too much space in landfills and pollute waterways.
San Francisco was the first city in the United States to ban plastic bags two years ago. Other cities have tried, but so far Los Angeles is the only other major cities to ban plastic bag waste. The ban goes into effect in the middle of next year. Washington D.C. will tax the bags next year in an attempt to reduce use.
Just this week, San Francisco Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi—who played a major part in getting plastic bags banned—introduced a new plan that would make it mandatory for supermarkets and pharmacies to give customers a 10-cent discount every time they use a reusable bag.
While Target and CVS are the latest retailers to introduce bag benefits, smaller retailers have already offered the same types of incentives.
Regional supermarket Stop & Shop gives customers 5 cents off their total bill for any shopping bag they bring from home.
For over a year, Whole Foods Market has been giving customers up to a 10-cent discount for bringing in a reusable bag. The company banned plastic bags from its store checkouts in favor of paper bags in 2008.
The company announced in April of this year that since the ban, 150 million bags were kept out of landfills and reusable bag use had tripled, and continues to grow.
“Consumers are sensitive to being taken advantage of,” said Kristin Heist, a senior strategist at Continuum, a global innovation consultancy.
"With an incentive," she added, "consumers feel like they’re winning—they're helping the environment and saving money at the same time.”
Slideshow: America's Greenest Companies
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66a503d70ea6fd7d41c1d5605fdba329 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/23/standard-time-resumes-on-november-1st-on-cnbc.html | STANDARD TIME RESUMES ON NOVEMBER 1ST ON CNBC | STANDARD TIME RESUMES ON NOVEMBER 1ST ON CNBC
Standard time resumes on Sunday, November lst. There will be an additional hour of Paid Programming on Saturday night, October 31st at 2AM ET.About CNBC:CNBC is the recognized world leader in business news, providing real-time financial market coverage and business information to more than 340 million homes worldwide, including more than 95 million households in the United States and Canada. The network's Business Day programming (weekdays from 5:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m. ET) is produced at CNBC's headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., and also includes reports from CNBC news bureaus worldwide. Additionally, CNBC viewers can manage their individual investment portfolios and gain additional in-depth information from on-air reports by accessing http://www.cnbc.com.Members of the media can receive more information about CNBC and its programming on the NBC Universal Media Village Web site at http://nbcumv.com/cnbc/.
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7037a45db132f8493f62f82ede5ee7fc | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/23/tamminen-patersons-bold-carbon-gamble.html | Tamminen: Paterson's Bold Carbon Gamble | Tamminen: Paterson's Bold Carbon Gamble
California’s state budget gap was about $40 billion this year. New York’s some $50 billion. Every state in the Union is struggling with drastically lower revenues and higher costs for services of every kind, washing state capitals with red ink.At the polls next year, governors who are facing elections—including Governor David Paterson of New York—may find themselves politically drowned by such gargantuan deficits.
So faced with closing schools, hospitals, fire stations, and kicking struggling families off of welfare roles, governors are turning instead, like the famous bank robber Willy Sutton, to wherever the money may be. In New York’s case, at least some of it is hidden in a carbon piggy bank.
Late last year, ten northeastern states started a cap-and-trade system covering carbon emissions from powerplants. Each facility must buy its initial “allowances” for their emissions, generating hundreds of millions of dollars in revenues. Each state decides how to spend this money, but generally they have committed it to energy efficiency programs.
That’s where Paterson took a bold gamble. He proposed using $90 million of the New York's $202 million in carbon allowance revenues this year to subsidize the state’s budget deficit.Many criticized the move, fearing that environmental and energy efficiency goals won’t be met and that other states might copy the move, making matters worse. That may also cost the Governor some green friends, hurting his relection chances.
The Carbon Challenge - A CNBC Special Report - See Complete Coverage
But maybe he did New Yorkers—and the rest of us—a real favor. First of all, more than half the state's carbon money still goes to energy investments. For example, Paterson recently announced a buy-back program for inefficient old appliances. That will save lots of energy as people trade up for newer energy-efficient models, stimulating the economy at the same, just as the cash-for- clunkers program helped car dealers.
Of course, Paterson could have proposed higher taxes instead of raiding the carbon piggy bank. But is it a good idea to tax workers and businesses more, penalizing hard work, or is it better to essentially tax waste and thereby encourage conservation?Many have suggested this very idea as a way to deal with climate change—tax carbon polluters, which raises the cost of electricity and gasoline—but lower taxes on payrolls and businesses. Such a zero-sum tax shift, it is argued, would reward hard work and discourage wasteful use of energy, both worthy outcomes. In any case, it would force users of energy to pay the true cost of their supply—a cost, measured in climate change impacts, that is borne today by everyone regardless of how much energy they use.
Climate activists’ immediate reaction to Patterson’s move was negative, but perhaps it’s worth another look. If governors everywhere knew there was carbon piggy bank in their state, we might soon see more support for carbon cap-and-trade systems and quickly earn bi-partisan support for tackling climate change.Given that Congress is stalled on climate legislation, this may be one of our best bets for an American contribution to a global deal in Copenhagen later this year. If that happens, we will have Governor Patterson to thank for being bold enough to get us started.
Terry Tamminen, former Secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency, is a partner at Pegasus Sustainable Century Merchant Bank and the Cullman Senior Fellow at the New America Foundation. (Cracking The Carbon Code is a registered trademark of Terry Tamminen).
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adda4e7d4a6b0a7d6e94784965169e16 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/23/the-pros-and-cons-of-annuities.html | The Pros and Cons of Annuities | The Pros and Cons of Annuities
Annuities can be a cash cow for insurance companies and the people who sell them -- making it vital for you to understand them and trust your source of information.
There may be less expensive ways to achieve the same outcome with another investing strategy. As with any big investment, discuss what is right for you with a trusted adviser who knows your entire financial picture.
Beyond sheer complexity, annuities have certain characteristics.
Mortality credits
Annuities are insurance against outliving your money, and the reason they make sense for some people is the mortality credits.
Mortality credits should be viewed as a threshold investment return that is required to beat the income from the annuity, wrote Moshe Milevsky, associate professor of finance at the Schulich School of Business at York University.
It's complex stuff, but here's a simple explanation: Imagine that 10 people at age 75 all invest $1,000 at 5 percent interest.
Collectively they put in $10,000 and receive $500 interest. Everyone gets back their $1,000 plus $50.
"Now say only the people at the end of the period who are alive will share in the proceeds. At the end we know there will be $10,500 but we assume only nine people will be alive," says Larry Swedroe, principal and director of research at Buckingham Asset Management in St. Louis.
"Insurance companies have big pools of people and they know actuarially that there will be nine people left. If there were nine people left and no insurance company involved, each person will collect $1,167 so the return jumps to almost 17 percent," he says.
The difference between 5 percent and 17 percent -- 12 percent -- is the mortality credit.
The older you get, the bigger the mortality credits get. By buying an annuity that pays income for life, you're betting that you will live longer than the average person who buys an annuity. Obviously, the insurance company believes you will do otherwise.
"If you're young, the odds of you dying in the next 10 years are close to zero so the mortality credits are close to zero," says Swedroe.
Bottom line: For many people, it won't really pay to buy an annuity until their mid-70s, when the mortality credits get to be large enough to make it worthwhile.
TaxesThough deferred annuities allow you to put off paying taxes, they don't eliminate taxes altogether.
Through the end of 2010, the capital gains tax rate is zero percent for the two lowest tax brackets and 15 percent for everyone else. Beginning in 2011, capital gains rates go up to 10 percent and 20 percent, respectively, unless Congress intervenes. That's still lower than most ordinary income tax rates, which go as high as 35 percent.
That means long-term gains on most investments that you sell in a taxable account are taxed at lower rates.
_____________________________________Need Help Investing? More Stories from Bankrate.com:
_____________________________________
But withdrawals from annuities get a different tax treatment than regular investments.
In a deferred annuity, "If I'm in the first period, the accumulation period, and I pull money out, it's LIFO -- last in, first out. So what I'm withdrawing first is interest. So it's 100 percent taxable income: no capital gains rate, no preferred dividend rate," says Mark LaSpisa, CFP with Vermillion Financial Advisors in South Barrington, Ill.
After annuitization, the income investors receive is taxed slightly differently. Part of the payment is considered return of principal, so it is untaxed.
As for the earnings: "Part will be considered income and part will be considered capital gains. That is where you come up with this blended (tax) rate on the payment that you get," says LaSpisa.
Your heirs are also taxed differently if they inherit an annuity as opposed to another type of investment, such as a stock or mutual fund.If your beneficiaries take the money from an annuity in a lump sum, then the entire account becomes taxable the year they receive it, and it's taxed as ordinary income.
Next: Fees, restrictions, and risks...
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f62277bc085952083fa8e43e406052c3 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/23/verizon-earnings-what-to-expect.html | Verizon Earnings: What to Expect | Verizon Earnings: What to Expect
Verizon is facing some major challenges, and it's looking for some new growth drivers.
Americans are cancelling their landline service or switching to digital phone service through cable providers.
There are the sector-wide issues: cash-strapped consumers are downsizing their phone spending and searching for better deals, and the fact that the mobile phone market is increasingly saturated and competitive.
Plus Verizon has its own share of challenges, like trying to compete with AT&T which has the exclusive deal with Apple's iPhone.
Wall Street expects Verizon, the second largest telecom company and the largest wireless service provider to report earnings of 59 cents per share, flat with last year, and a 10 percent increase in revenue (thanks to its acquisition of Alltel) to $27 billion.
Verizon's wireless numbers will be in the spotlight. The market is increasingly crowded as low cost players come in with cheap deals for consumers. Analysts are concerned that this may force Verizon to drop its prices, hurting its margins.
Plus the wireless market is nearly entirely saturated, so growth across the industry is slowing. Then there's the fact that Verizon can't take advantage of all the upside from the wireless industry — it owns just 55 percent of Verizon wireless, the rest is owned by Vodafone.
Verizon is also looking to take a piece out of the cable sector's market share. Last week it announced some new aggressive packages and offers: a "quadruple play." The idea is to include its wireless — its area of strength — in its bundles to lure in customers.
But because it's only economically viable to roll out FIOS to some 18 million homes, the potential upside from its success — and it is successful — is limited. At the same time the potential downside for cable companies Comcast and Time Warner Cable is also limited.
Another factor Verizon is hoping will help its results: a new smartphone. In the next few weeks Verizon will launch the Google -powered Motorola "Droid" phone. It may not have the cache of the iPhone, but they're hoping it'll attract a following, and if not draw new subscribers, prevent others from switching to AT&T for its iPhone.
Questions? Comments? MediaMoney@cnbc.com
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222ca2dde231c1f64aa10e3a34dc7acf | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/23/your-first-move-for-monday-october-26th.html | Here’s our Fast Money Final Trade. Our gang gives you Monday’s best trades, right now.
Joe Terranova says, “It’s time to “get out of Joy Global.”
Gary Kaminsky thinks "the melt-up will continue through the end of the year."
Karen Finerman suggest long St. Jude .
Steve Grasso thinks Apple is a buy. “Everyone thinks it’s overpriced, well I think it’s going to get more overpriced!”
VIDEO0:0000:00Fast Money Final Trades
Click here to see other Final Trade posts.
______________________________________________________Got something to say? Send us an e-mail at fastmoney-web@cnbc.com and your comment might be posted on the Rapid Recap! Prefer to keep it between us? You can still send questions and comments to .Trader disclosure: On Oct. 23th, 2009, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC’s Fast Money were owned by the Fast Money traders; Finerman's Firm Owns (BKS) Puts, Is Short (BKS); Finerman's Firm Owns (MSFT); Finerman's Firm And Finerman Own (PDE); Finerman's Firm And Finerman Own (RIG); Finerman's Firm Owns (WLP) Calls; Finerman's Firm Is Short (IJR), (MDY), (SPY), (IWM), (USO), (UNG); Finerman's Firm Owns (AET) Calls; Finerman's Firm Owns (UNH) Calls; Finerman's Firm Owns (BCR; Finerman's Firm Owns (STJ); Seymour Owns (FXI); Seymour Owns (EEM); Seymour Is Short (PBR); Grasso Owns (AAPL), (ABK), (ASTM), (BAC), (BGP), (C), (COST), (PRST), (V), (WMT), (FAZ); Terranova Owns (WYNN); Terranova Is Short (AXP), (POT), (OIH), (FCX)GE Is The Parent Company Of CNBCNBC Universal Is The Parent Company Of CNBCFor Steve Grasso:Stuart Frankel Corp. And Partners Own (CMCSK)Stuart Frankel Corp. And Partners Own (CUBA)Stuart Frankel Corp. And Partners Own (GERN)Stuart Frankel Corp. And Partners Own (HSPO)Stuart Frankel Corp. And Partners Own (LMT)Stuart Frankel Corp. And Partners Own (MSFT)Stuart Frankel Corp. And Partners Own (NWS.A)Stuart Frankel Corp. And Partners Own (NXST)Stuart Frankel Corp. And Partners Own (NYX)Stuart Frankel Corp. And Partners Own (PDE)Stuart Frankel Corp. And Partners Own (PRST)Stuart Frankel Corp. And Partners Own (RDC)Stuart Frankel Corp. And Partners Own (ROK)Stuart Frankel Corp. And Partners Own (TBT)Stuart Frankel Corp. And Partners Own (TLM)Stuart Frankel Corp. And Partners Own (XOM)Stuart Frankel Corp. And Partners Own (XRX)Stuart Frankel Corp. And Partners Own (SDS)Stuart Frankel Corp. And Partners Are Short (QQQQ)Stuart Frankel Corp. And Partners Are Short (CL)
For JoeTerranova:Terranova Works For (VRTS)Terranova Is Chief Market Strategist Of Virtus Investment Partners, Ltd.Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (XLY)Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (CAL)Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (CLB)Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (DLR)Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (EXR)Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (XLI)Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (IGE)Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (XLB)Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (DBA)Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (DBV)Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (UA)
For Stacey GilbertSusquehanna Capital Group Is A Market Maker In (MEE)For Dennis GartmanFunds Managed By Dennis Gartman Are Short British Pound SterlingFunds Managed By Dennis Gartman Own Crude OilFunds Managed By Dennis Gartman Own Australian DollarFunds Managed By Dennis Gartman Own Canadian DollarFunds Managed By Dennis Gartman Are Short YenFunds Managed By Dennis Gartman Are Short EuroFunds Managed By Dennis Gartman Own GoldFunds Managed By Dennis Gartman Own Corn
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40e8ea3f4a5cb9d77eee39d0881aa03a | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/24/witness-in-galleon-case-is-said-to-have-history-of-passing-secrets.html | Witness in Galleon Case Is Said to Have History of Passing Secrets | Witness in Galleon Case Is Said to Have History of Passing Secrets
The central witness in a federal insider trading case against Raj Rajaratnam, founder of the Galleon hedge fund, has a more than 10-year history of passing on privileged information to the fund, according to federal court documents.
Roomy Khan, the witness, faxed confidential sales and pricing information for computer chips sold by Intel to Galleon in 1998, according to documents in United States District Court in San Jose, Calif. At the time, Ms. Khan worked at Inteland had responded to requests for the information from a representative of Galleon, left unidentified in the documents.
She worked at Galleon for a time in the late 1990s after the Intel incident.
Little more could be learned about the case because it was sealed by a federal court.
The San Jose Mercury News reported the links between Ms. Khan, Intel and Galleon on Friday. It reported that she pleaded guilty to wire fraud and that in 2002 a federal judge ordered Ms. Khan to serve six months of home detention and to pay $150,000 in fines and restitution.
Ms. Khan has been identified as “Tipper A” or the cooperating witness in the government’s case that accuses Mr. Rajaratnam of insider trading.
Federal prosecutors said that Ms. Khan provided them with taped conversations she had with Mr. Rajaratnam and admitted to passing on inside information tied to Google and other companies. Ms. Khan has agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy and securities fraud to receive a lighter sentence, according to a criminal complaint.
Court filings in the most recent case say that Ms. Khan first met Mr. Rajaratnam in 1996, while she was still at Intel and he was at the investment bank Needham & Company.
The earlier court documents described Ms. Khan as “executing the scheme and artifice to defraud” by obtaining the sales data from Intel. She would have had access to how actual shipments were matching up with previously forecast demand. She was accused of divulging six months’ worth of product and financial data.
Other details of Ms. Khan’s life point to a complex legal and financial past.
While their family has roots in Bangladesh, Ms. Khan and her husband, Sakhawat Khan, have lived in Silicon Valley for decades. Mr. Khan built a reputation as a chip designer through work at various companies. He has amassed about 30 patents that cover analog and flash memory chip technology and benefited from the sale of two start-ups, Information Storage Devices and Agate Semiconductor. Recently, Mr. Khan did work for Silicon Storage Technology , which claims a number of his patents.
“They are both very personable and very intelligent,” said Trevor Blyth, who has been awarded a number of patents in conjunction with Mr. Khan. “Roomy was a high-energy, powerful lady.”
While the Khans lived in Atherton, one of Silicon Valley’s most exclusive neighborhoods, it remains unclear how much wealth they had accumulated over the years. The Khans were plaintiffs in a 2003 lawsuit that stemmed from the collapse of an $18.5 million real estate deal. In 2002, Robert and Ann Hyams agreed to purchase the Khans’ property, but by the end of that year decided to drop the purchase and enter into a settlement agreement with the Khans, according to court documents.
Under that settlement, the Hyams agreed to pay the Khans $650,000, but by the deadline for the payment they had wired only $5,500 to the Khans’ account. The Khans sued in San Mateo County Superior Court and were awarded the remaining $644,500, plus interest.
By 2005, the Khans’ financial situation seemed to have deteriorated.
Deutsche Bank filed an arbitration case in 2005 against the Khans and their investment firm, Digital Age Capital, for failing to pay the fees for an options brokerage account they held with the firm. They reached a settlement in August that year, under which the Khans would pay $700,000, payable in two installments of $350,000 each.
Slideshow: Hedge Fund Mansions At A Discount
The Khans defaulted on the first payment, and Ms. Khan wrote an e-mail message to a Deutsche Bank lawyer, pleading hardship and asking for more time to pay the $700,000.
“I am currently having liquidity problems and would like to pay the full amount of $700,000 by Dec. 31, 2005,” she wrote in the message. “I assure you that we are not seeking to avoid our obligations, we just need a bit more time.”
In April, they sold their Atherton house, bought in 2000 for $10.5 million, for $9.4 million, according to county filings. The Khans are seeking a new residence in Florida, a relative said.
The Khans have not returned repeated phone calls and e-mail messages requesting comment.
The Khans settled a lawsuit last month in which they had been accused of underpaying their housekeeper. Vilma Serralta, the housekeeper, received far less than minimum wage while working more than 14 hours a day, according to the court documents. The judge in the case determined that the Khans had tried to fabricate evidence in the case, leading to the settlement.
“From what I saw in this case, I’m not surprised Ms. Khan has been charged with a crime,” said Hillary Ronen, who represented Ms. Serralta in the case. “The whole air about her was ‘how dare her servant stand up to her.’ ”
Ms. Ronen said that lawyers had to rearrange seats during settlement talks to prevent Ms. Khan from shoving Ms. Serralta.
Prosecutors have said that Ms. Khan provided Mr. Rajaratnam with tips about Polycom , a video conferencing company. Polycom said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it placed Sunil K. Bhalla, a senior vice president and general manager in voice communications solutions, on administrative leave. A Polycom spokeswoman declined to comment beyond the filing and would not confirm that Mr. Bhalla’s suspension was connected to the insider trading investigation.
Michael J. de la Merced reported from New York and Ashlee Vance from Mountain View, Calif. Zachery Kouwe contributed reporting from New York and Dan Zehr from San Mateo, Calif.
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e2c058f6bed9ed2ad32eff805b92b1bf | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/25/capmark-financial-may-file-for-bankruptcy.html | Capmark Financial May File for Bankruptcy | Capmark Financial May File for Bankruptcy
The Capmark Financial Group, the big commercial real estate finance company cobbled together from pieces of GMAC, may file for bankruptcy as soon as this weekend, a person briefed on the matter told DealBook on Saturday.
If that happens, the move would be unsurprising: Capmark warned last month that it might seek Chapter 11 protection after it reported a $1.62 billion quarterly loss.
Last month, the company agreed to sell its mortgage loan and servicing business to Warren E. Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway and Leucadia National for as much as $490 million. That agreement carried a 60-day expiration date, or around Nov. 2 — unless Capmark filed for bankruptcy, which would give it another 60 days to complete the sale.
The company is only the latest to fall victim to continued trouble in the commercial real estate market, which many analysts have said will continue to deteriorate. Many small banks have collapsed this year under the weight of commercial loans.
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Goldman Sachs Capital Partners, Five Mile Capital and Dune Capital bought GMAC’s commercial real estate businesses in 2006 for about $1.5 billion, with GMAC retaining a 25 percent stake in the operation. K.K.R. has already written down the value of its Capmark investment to zero.
Capmark has about $10 billion in assets, with another $10 billion in a Utah bank the company owns that would not be subject to a bankruptcy filing. Capmark has already moved several hundred million dollars into the bank to shore up its financial health.
In a Chapter 11 proceeding, the Berkshire-Leucadia sale would be structured as a 363 sale, a transaction named after a section of the federal bankruptcy code. A Berkshire-Leucadia joint venture would be deemed the stalking horse bidder, though others could come in and potentially top that offer.
Slideshow: 20 Stocks With The Potential to Drop
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8cb33e5f2b9c3f178020fc9629a303da | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/25/small-business-faces-sharp-rise-in-costs-of-health-care.html | Small Business Faces Sharp Rise in Costs of Health Care | Small Business Faces Sharp Rise in Costs of Health Care
As Congress nears votes on legislation that would overhaul the health care system, many small businesses say they are facing the steepest rise in insurance premiums they have seen in recent years.
Doctor Writing
Insurance brokers and benefits consultants say their small business clients are seeing premiums go up an average of about 15 percent for the coming year — double the rate of last year’s increases. That would mean an annual premium that was $4,500 per employee in 2008 and $4,800 this year would rise to $5,500 in 2010.
The higher premiums at least partly reflect the inexorable rise of medical costs, which is forcing Medicare to raise premiums, too. Health insurance bills are also rising for big employers, but because they have more negotiating clout, their increases are generally not as steep.
Higher medical costs aside, some experts say they think the insurance industry, under pressure from Wall Street, is raising premiums to get ahead of any legislative changes that might reduce their profits.
The increases come at a politically fraught time for the insurers, as they try to fight off the creation of a government-run competitor and as they push their case that they have a central role to play in controlling the nation’s health care costs.
President Obama, in his Saturday radio address, said the Democrats’ health insurance overhaul would help small businesses and stimulate the economy by providing relief from “the crushing costs of health care — costs that have forced too many small businesses to cut benefits, shed jobs, or shut their doors for good.”
The insurance industry has already been under sharp attack by Democratic lawmakers who favor creating a government-run insurance plan that would compete with private insurers. Without that competition, proponents say, insurers will continue to price coverage beyond the reach of many Americans.
Small businesses, which employ about 40 percent of the private labor force, are a big constituency for both parties.
The House speaker, Nancy Pelosi of California, said the sharp rise in premiums for small businesses offered the latest evidence that Congress must act swiftly on health care legislation.
“This underlines the urgent need for health insurance reform, including a public option,” she said in an interview. “We need to have competition for the insurance companies to keep premiums down.”
Insurers say there is no need for a government-run insurance plan and argue that their health plans are already responsible for many of the initiatives, like programs to coordinate care for chronic conditions, that ultimately lower costs.
Insurers’ “profits are not responsible for increased health care costs,” said Robert Zirkelbach, a spokesman for the industry’s trade group, America’s Health Insurance Plans.
Like the insurers, Republican lawmakers, who portray themselves as champions of small business, argue that the proposed legislation would raise premiums across the board because sick people would be more likely to enroll than healthy people.
They also say the taxes and other ways of paying for the program would be passed on to employers in higher premiums, only making matters worse for small businesses.
The Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, said in a response to the president’s radio address, “We can’t support a bill that will raise premiums.” The big insurance companies declined to comment.
With negotiations over next year’s premiums still under way, data on rate increases are mostly anecdotal. Formal surveys have not yet been completed by the health benefits consultants who track the figures. And in some parts of the country, experts say rates are not overly high.
But benefits consultants say there is no doubt that premiums are soaring for many small businesses. Edward Kaplan, a consultant with the Segal Company, said his clients were seeing renewals for coverage at prices 15 to 23 percent higher this year. Last year, he said, they typically faced increases of 7 to 12 percent.
The brokers and consultants say the price jumps seem hard to justify. “Frankly, I’m mystified by the size of the increases,” said one broker, Charles J. Newman, who works with small employers in the New York area.
Some say the threat of an overhaul may be at least part of the reason. Joshua Miley, a consultant with HighRoads, which analyzes benefit information for employers, said the “undercurrent of health reform is driving part of the renewal increases.”
HighRoads projects that premiums will rise 14.4 percent for an individual in a health maintenance organization plan at a typical small employer.
There is no question that insurers are under pressure from Wall Street. In recent years, insurers were often not quick enough to raise their premiums well above the rising cost of medical care.
But they have heard from angry investors disappointed by the companies’ earnings.
“There’s no one out there who hasn’t had to do a mea culpa to Wall Street,” said Sheryl Skolnick, an analyst for Pali Capital who follows the companies. While the industry is particularly vulnerable now in Washington, she said, “it seems like they’re more afraid of Wall Street.”
Michael A. Turpin, a former senior executive for UnitedHealth, the insurer, and now a top official at USI Holdings , an insurance brokerage firm, said insurers were now “under so much pressure to post earnings, they’re going to make hay while the sun is shining.”
Along with many Republican lawmakers, the insurers say the current Congressional proposals do too little to address the underlying reasons for high premiums — the unabated rise in medical costs and effects of a weak economy. Hospitals, for example, have been treating greater numbers of people who have lost their jobs and their insurance, and they are passing along some of those costs by charging higher prices to private insurers.
The industry also points to low government payments to hospitals and doctors, which insurers say result in higher prices for employer-based coverage to make up for the shortfall.
In an analysis released two weeks ago by America’s Health Insurance Plans, insurers said premiums would rise even faster under the legislation under study in Congress — an assessment fiercely disputed by Democratic Congressional leaders and some health care economists but shared by many Republicans.
Small businesses, besides having less negotiating leverage than big employers, tend to pay more for the same coverage because they cannot spread the cost of expensive medical conditions or hospitalizations over large numbers of workers. Premiums can be especially high if they have sick or older workers.
Owners of small companies say the lack of options is why they have been paying increasingly higher premiums for less and less coverage — this year perhaps more than ever.
In August, when Walter Rowen, who owns Susquehanna Glass in Columbia, Pa., sought to renew his company’s coverage for two dozen employees, he said his insurer demanded a 160 percent rate increase. Mr. Rowen said he was told his work force was “getting too old and very expensive.”
Mr. Rowen said his insurance broker found that any other health plan was likely to charge 30 to 50 percent more than he paid last year. He chose a less generous plan from a different carrier for 44 percent more.
David M. Herszenhorn contributed reporting.
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c35ac5c342fb54248cfd9ee5f8475f18 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/25/stanford-investors-face-dwindling-hope-for-recovery.html | Stanford Investors Face Dwindling Hope for Recovery | Stanford Investors Face Dwindling Hope for Recovery
Eight months after he seized control of what was left of their life's savings, a court-appointed attorney in Dallas has finally met with investors in the alleged Stanford Ponzi scheme, CNBC has learned.
Allen StanfordAP
The meeting, which took place Thursday in Dallas, was described by both sides as productive. But the chances it will help investors recover much money are tenuous at best.
Attorney Ralph Janvey took control of Stanford's assets in February after the Securities and Exchange Commission sued the firm and the court placed it in receivership.
The SEC says Stanford ran a massive international Ponzi scheme involving bogus certificates of deposit. The firm's founder, flamboyant Texas billionaire R. Allen Stanford, has denied wrongdoing. He is being held without bail on federal criminal charges in Houston.
While Janvey is supposed to be gathering what is left of Stanford's assets to distribute to investors, he has drawn fury for not communicating with them, and for attempting to collect some $27 million in fees for his work. The meeting appears to have eased some of the tensions, even on the issue of Janvey's fees.
"The amount of investigative work the receiver has had to undergo just to make heads or tails of Stanford's scattered assets is astonishing," said Angela Shaw, a founder of the Stanford Victims Coalition who attended the meeting. "This is work that could have been prevented or should have already been done by the criminal prosecutors and the financial regulators," said Shaw, who, along with her husband, lost $2 million invested with Stanford.
A spokeswoman for Janvey confirmed the meeting, calling it "positive and productive."
"We look forward to assisting the coalition in its continuing efforts on behalf of all the victims of the Stanford fraud," said Kristie Blumenstein of the law firm Krage & Janvey. She would not comment on why it took so long to meet with the victims' group.
But despite the new lines of communication, recovering money for victims of the alleged $8 billion fraud is proving difficult — and contentious.
Next Monday, Nov. 2, Janvey will argue before a United States appeals court that he should be allowed to "claw back" millions of dollars from hundreds of Stanford investors who managed to withdraw their funds before the alleged Ponzi scheme collapsed. The Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as the investors Janvey is targeting, argue the clawbacks are illegal and are aimed at innocent victims.
But on the other side are investors like Annalisa Mendez of Austin, Texas, who were unable to get their money out in time.
"I fail to see why a small number of us who were tipped by our brokers to get out should be allowed to do so at the expense of everyone else," Mendez wrote in an e-mail to CNBC. "To put this in perspective, 2% of the victims could walk away with what could well be 50% of the total amount recovered for the Estate."
Because the clawback issue pits one group of investors against another, the Stanford Victims Coalition has not taken a position ahead of next week's arguments.
Instead, the group is focusing on trying to get insurance coverage from the Securities Investor Protection Corporation, SIPC, which typically insures securities at member firms for up to $500,000.
SIPC did cover victims of the Madoff fraud, for example, but has refused to pay Stanford investors, arguing the certificates of deposit — which were issued by Stanford's offshore bank in Antigua — are not covered.
The victims' coalition recently took up a collection to hire a former SIPC attorney to argue their case, and the group says Janvey has agreed to help as well. But that effort could also pit victims against one another, since the SIPC coverage may only extend to investors who purchased their CD's through Stanford's U.S. broker-dealer, a SIPC member. Others, mainly international investors, could be out of luck.
Still, the SIPC coverage, along with lawsuits targeting everyone from Stanford's insurance carriers to the government of Antigua, may be the investors' best hope.
Following the meeting with Janvey, the victims' coalition acknowledged what many have feared for months: "The recovery is expected to take several years and will be pennies on the dollar," the group said in a statement.
Slideshow: Wall Street's Favorite Whipping Boys
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1469b84266adebff81ff0eac7e3dc928 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/26/amazon-is-to-ebay-what-google-is-to-yahoo.html | Amazon is to eBay What Google is to Yahoo | Amazon is to eBay What Google is to Yahoo
We've seen these tales of two companies before: one competitor begins pulling away from another, and like a raging brush fire, generates its own momentum, makes its own wind, and just keeps growing. And growing. Devouring everything in its path.
That's not to say the firefighters aren't making progress. It's just that you look at the size of the thing and you think, how in the world are we going to attack that?
That might be the very question eBay is asking of Amazon, and Yahoo continues to ponder about Google . Here we are two trading days after Amazon reported an astonishing quarter, and the shares rose 20 percent on the news, and they continue to climb. And they should. Amazon is finally, consistently delivering on its promise to become the net's top retailing destination. And the money is pouring in.
Amazon has had its issues in the past: razor thin margins, retailing hiccups, drifting with the economy. But the value proposition this company offers consumers and its shareholders is finally being absorbed by Wall Street; and its closest rival, eBay, is like a wide swath of tinder try eucalyptus trees right in the path of these coming flames.
Ebay's report just one day before Amazon's was, by comparison, dismal. Not necessarily dire since the holiday shopping quarter can offer even the most unlikely retailers surprising tailwinds. But amidst a sweeping turnaround strategy at eBay, on both technology and procedures, Amazon continues to soar.
Outlook For Tech May Be Dimming
Amazon blew past expectations, beating topline by $400 million, and pro forma income by $70 million. And yet its mid-point operating income guidance of $463 million versus Street expectations of $473 million in the fourth quarter seems Apple-esque in its sandbagging-ness.
There's no question there's competition out there. eBay is still out there. Wal-Mart is still out there. Sony is still out there even though the Kindle was Amazon's top-selling item, period. And I'm sure at some point we'll start to see valuation downgrades. But a downgrade on valuation would miss the point as to just how compelling the Amazon story has become.
We're witnessing a company not merely establishing itself as the marketplace leader, but pulling away from any meaningful competitor. We saw it with Google, able to eclipse — and easily —Yahoo's dominance, and then able to laugh at any other company trying to step up and take it on (Microsoft ? Yahoo? A combined Microsoft/Yahoo? AOL? Scrap-feeders all of them.)
Same with Amazon. And eBay. Amazon isn't just the king of the hill. It IS the hill, and nobody seems able to climb it.
Questions? Comments? TechCheck@cnbc.com
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74ab3e199f480b56de10463c808c247d | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/26/as-earnings-season-passes-what-do-investors-want-now.html | As Earnings Season Passes, What Do Investors Want Now? | As Earnings Season Passes, What Do Investors Want Now?
Wall Street has set its sights beyond a relatively low-impact earnings season and is now looking for bigger and better things.
AP
A reading later this week on gross domestic product and a big Fed meeting next week have moved to the forefront of investors' radar screens as they look for real signs that a recovery has taken hold.
About 80 percent of Standard & Poor's 500 companies have beaten earnings estimates, but the seven-month stocks rally has slowed significantly since the season began.
Removing uncertainty over whether a further runup is justified is now job #1.
"It's hard to fight the tape. The economic data that has been causing the tape has confirmed that the process of global recovery and domestic recovery here in the US is in place," says John Stoltzfus, director and senior market strategist at Ticonderoga Securities in New York. "But it is tenuous. There are still many questions related to sustainability."
Some of those questions will get answers over the next two weeks.
On Thursday, the government will release its latest GDP numbers, and the report is expected to show the first positive quarter of growth since the recession began. The second-quarter numbers showed a drop of 0.7 percent, a big improvement from the first-quarter's reading of a 6.4 percent decline.
Economists are looking this time for a positive reading of at least 2.5 percent. That would jibe with projections from the National Bureau of Economic Research and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke that the recession indeed is over and the economy is beginning to show real growth.
A disappointment in that reading could be dangerous to the market's aggressive rally, particularly if the employment picture continues to be weak.
"Signs of recovery should be evident across most categories, though we suspect that weak September new home sales and personal income data will remind investors that the recovery will likely be choppy," Ethan Harris, BoA Merrill Lynch Global Research analyst, wrote in a research note. "Falling wage and salary growth likely will also be apparent in the 3Q employment cost figures, which are expected to show new lows in compensation."
Weekly jobless claims figures also will come Thursday, with the market anticipating a continued slowing to 520,000.
Those economic signals in turn will be watched for how they impact Fed policy making. The Fed's Open Market Committee meets next Tuesday, and the statement released from the meeting Wednesday should indicate the central bank's position going forward.
The Fed's key interest rate now wavers between zero and 0.25 percent. There is virtually no expectation that the rate will change following next week's meeting, but that's not the case for 2010. Fed-fund futures show about a 50 percent chance for a rate hike in March, but a nearly fully priced-in hike to 0.50 percent in May.
The Fed likely will make a move once it sees inflation becoming a threat.
"Bernanke's been very good at telegraphing punches in terms of what is to be expected out of Fed meetings," Stoltzfus says. "The Fed has been clear that as soon as it sees any degree of sustainability in growth and any likelihood that inflation could be rearing its ugly head in a worrisome manner, they will be addressing it."
Indications for aggressive monetary tightening could be a market mover in either direction.
"The language might start changing especially if we get a positive GDP number on Thursday," says Don Humphreys, president of Voyager Wealth Management in Harrington, N.J. "Some people are worried that's going to have a negative impact on stocks because liquidity will start coming out.
"At the same time, there's a lot of money flowing to the bond market. Once there is some talk of rising interest rates, that money will be coming out of the bonds. Stocks will be the next logical step for that flow of funds."
If recent behavior is an indication, investors are waiting for clearer signs before placing their bets.
That hasn't been the case over the past several months. Investors have driven the averages far above the March lows on anticipation that third-quarter earnings would show the formations of a recovery.
But when earnings actually started rolling in, investors were unfazed and have done little net buying since the Dow topped 10,000 on Dec. 14.
Long-term confidence will be key to push the market higher.
"The cap to all this is going to be when you create more jobs, but once you start creating more jobs this market could go up 2,000 points from here," says Nadav Baum, managing director of investments at BPU Investment Management in Pittsburgh. "I'm starting to see better things coming in. I'm becoming very positive. I like that there's a wall of worry out there. Some people still feel this is a head-fake. You want that."
Baum is using the market's rebound as an opportunity to stock up on some of Wall Street's biggest names—AT&T , Coca-Cola and the SPDR Industrial ETF —and looking for dividends, a strategy gaining popularity as investors continue to buy into the rally.
"It would seem a global recovery is in place that would continue to work well on equity markets," Stoltzfus adds. "We would think that the markets are more likely to grind higher than to start any kind of downdraft that would be significant enough to retrace any of the steps that we have taken."
Slideshow: 20 Stocks With Potential to Drop
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449a67554e672c524acee95874385d26 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/26/big-cellphone-makers-shifting-to-android-system.html | Big Cellphone Makers Shifting to Android System | Big Cellphone Makers Shifting to Android System
Since 1996, Microsoft has been writing operating systems for little computers to carry in your pocket. It was a lonely business until the company’s perennial rival, Apple, introduced the Web-browsing, music-playing iPhone. But now that smartphones are popular, Microsoft’s operating system, Windows Mobile, is foundering.
More cellphone makers are turning to the free Android operating system made by Microsoft’s latest nemesis, Google .
Cellphone makers that have used Windows Mobile to run their top-of-the-line smartphones — including Samsung, LG, Kyocera, Sony Ericsson — are now also making Android devices. Twelve Android handsets have been announced this year, with dozens more expected next year. Motorola has dropped Windows Mobile from its line entirely in a switch to Android. HTC, a major cellphone maker, expects half its phones sold this year to run Android. Dell is using Android for its entry into the cellphone market.
Google AndroidGoogle Android
All four of the largest carriers in the United States have now agreed to offer Android phones. When the first Android handset, the G1 from HTC, was introduced last fall, only T-Mobile offered it. Now, Verizon, the largest carrier, is putting a huge promotional push behind the Droid from Motorola, set to be introduced this week. Even AT&T, the home of the iPhone, recently said it would join the Android party next year.
Google is rapidly introducing updates to Android, each named after a bakery sweet. Version 1.5 (cupcake) came out in April, version 1.6 (donut) appeared in September. Version 2.0 (éclair) is expected to appear on the Droid.
“A lot of manufacturers are walking into our office and talking about how important Android is becoming to them,” said Cole Brodman, the chief development officer of T-Mobile, the first carrier to sell phones with Google’s software. “Android is ramping with more manufacturers and more price points. It is going to have a pretty significant impact.”
Android is on only 1.8 percent of smartphones worldwide, according to Gartner, and Windows Mobile software still dwarfs Android. But Microsoft is slipping. The percentage of smartphones using the Windows Mobile system has plummeted to 9.3 percent, from 12 percent in the second quarter of 2008. Microsoft fell behind Apple, which shot up to 13.3 percent, from 2.8 percent. (Nokia’s Symbian operating system is the world leader, followed by Research In Motion’s OS for its BlackBerrys.)
Android does have its share of doubters. “The industry has decided that Android is going to be a huge hit, but I’m skeptical,” said Tero Kuittinen, an analyst with MKM Partners. “To have legs, you have to be a hit. The first three Android devices didn’t connect with the mass market.”
Nevertheless, Android is free, while Windows Mobile costs manufacturers $15 to $25 a phone.
Google’s software is intended for modern screens you tap with a finger, while Windows Mobile was built for use with a stylus. Android has attracted far more applications for consumers in the first year than Windows Mobile has in a decade. As a result, Android is winning over the world’s largest cellphone makers.
One part of the appeal is that, unlike other operating systems, Android is open source software, so anyone can use or change it.
“We have access to the source code,” said Sanjay Jha, the co-chief executive of Motorola. “To do that on any other platform would be very difficult.”
HTC, the Taiwanese cellphone company that has grown quickly in recent years making only Windows Mobile phones, also finds the customization attractive because Android phones allow users to add apps. “Customers are really embracing personalization, and Android brings that to the forefront,” said Jason Mackenzie, HTC’s vice president for North America.
Windows Mobile, by contrast, appeals more to corporate computing managers who like how it connects to Microsoft’s e-mail and office software.
“A year ago, we significantly changed our strategy,” said Andrew Lees, Microsoft’s senior vice president for the Windows Mobile effort. “Our value proposition is you can get your business and your consumer scenarios on the PC, and in a relevant way for you on the phone.”
But Microsoft has not announced a release date for Windows Mobile 7.
“You will see a speedy set of innovation for us in the next 6, 12, 24 months,” said Robert J. Bach, president of Microsoft’s entertainment and devices division at a news media event in New York to introduce a quick revision of the operating system called Windows Mobile 6.5. “Should we have picked up on the trends a little sooner? It’s hard not to say we should have,” he added.
So far, Microsoft has not been able to answer critics who say its operating system is old, slow and hard to use.
“Windows Mobile is simply dated, and that hasn’t changed in this release,” said Avi Greengart, research director for consumer devices at Current Analysis.
Indeed, a J. D. Power & Associates survey found that Windows Mobile had the lowest satisfaction rating among customers of any smartphone operating system. The iPhone has by far the most satisfying software, the study found. Android is a distant second, followed closely by BlackBerry’s operating system.
Windows Mobile scored below average on every attribute, said Kirk Parsons, director of the study, especially in ease of operation, speed and stability.
Android’s supporters say that in contrast, Google’s software and the devices that run it are evolving very quickly.
“They started with the base layer of capabilities,” Kevin Packingham, senior vice president for product and technology development at Sprint. “What was missing from the first generation was the user interface that really gets to consumers.”
Mr. Packingham said he was confident that Android phones would gain popularity.
“In the next year, there is the potential for Android to have huge growth and market share,” he said.
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785a435213fb521c201bfa4d903b9979 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/26/can-hybrid-luxury-automaker-thrive-with-old-gm-plant.html | Can Hybrid Luxury Automaker Thrive With Old GM Plant? | Can Hybrid Luxury Automaker Thrive With Old GM Plant?
The White House will herald it as proof America's auto industry is changing. Leaders in Washington will say this is the blue print for taking the shrinking big 3 and putting their abandoned plants to good use. For all the "feel good" cheer surrounding the announcement a former GM plant in Delaware will be renovated to build high-end hybrid cars, keep the hype in check.
Tomorrow, Vice President Joe Biden will be in Delaware to announce Fisker Automotive is taking over the old GM plant in Wilmington. Fisker won't confirm or comment about Tuesday’s events. But at a White House where pushing next generation cars/trucks is a priority, there's great enthusiasm for Fisker taking over the old GM plant. Who can blame them? After two years of auto plants closing and thousands being laid off, it's welcome news to see an automaker stepping up and kick starting mothballed assembly lines.
See The 'Electric Slide' At The Tokyo Auto Show
But make no mistake; Fisker has its work cut out. The company's first model, The Karma, comes out in the middle of next year. CEO Henrik Fisker believes there will be robust demand for a luxury hybrid. In fact, The Karma is expected to price at more than $80,000. That's a lot of money for a gas-electric car — especially with gas prices holding at a modest price.
The Carbon Challenge - A CNBC Special Report - See Complete Coverage
Skeptics will say Fisker is misguided betting on high-end gas electric hybrids.
They'll say it's tough enough for a start-up to get its first models right and establish a following. Funny, people said the same thing when Tesla stated up. Remember how skeptics said Tesla will have just a few celebrities and rich people buy its luxury electric car and the company will struggle to grow. Tesla has proven those critics wrong. Now Fisker hopes to do the same thing.
So when the White House talks about a new day dawning for America's auto industry on Tuesday, remember this is still an industry trying to find itself after two brutal years. That should happen over the next two years. And when things settle out, Fisker is counting on its plant in Delaware as being a key in pushing America toward gas-electric hybrids.
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9f9ddde2e038d56d99200c484e25e24c | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/26/chart-extra-pharma-favorite.html | We know you love the charts. All this week we’ll have some extra for you, only on the web! Which Pharma name is showing bullish chart patterns?
VIDEO0:0000:00Chart Extra
Check back all week for more of the technical analysis that you need!
______________________________________________________Got something to say? Send us an e-mail at fastmoney-web@cnbc.com and your comment might be posted on the Rapid Recap! If you'd prefer to make a comment but not have it published on our website send your message to .Trader disclosure: On October 26th, 2009, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC’s Fast Money were owned by the Fast Money traders; Adami Owns (AGU), (BTU), (C), (GS), (INTC), (MSFT), (NUE); Najarian Owns (BIDU) Dec. Call, Is Short (BIDU) Nov. Call; Najarian Owns (DNDN) Calls, Owns (DNDN) Puts; Najarian Owns (YHOO), Is Short (YHOO) Calls; Terranova Is Short (FCX)For Joe-TerranovaTerranova Works For (VRTS)Terranova Is Chief Market Strategist Of Virtus Investment Partners, Ltd.Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (XLY)Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (CAL)Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (CLB)Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (DLR)Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (EXR)Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (XLI)Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (IGE)Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (XLB)Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (DBA)Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (DBV)Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (UA)For Dennis GartmanFunds Managed By Gartman Are Short SterlingFunds Managed By Gartman Own Canadian Dollar
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88d5b19a8cb196a8b912cfcd3ea81a49 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/26/cramer-earnings-seasons-most-haunted-phrase.html | Earnings season is beyond the halfway point, and only three companies have boasted of accelerating sales: Google , Apple and Amazon.com . What’s everyone else saying?
Cramer's 5 Breakout Bank Stocks
“Our business is stabilizing, albeit at lower levels.”
The phrase is so common this quarter that Cramer googled it and found 15 companies that used some variant of it during their conference calls: FedEx , Yahoo! , Whirlpool, United Technologies, Cooper Industries, Host Hotels, Leggett & Platt, EMC, Thermo Fisher, Marriott, Hubbell, Knight Transportation, Raymond James, Reliance Steel and Landstar.
Here’s Whirlpool’s management: “We continue to see demand levels in the United States stabilizing, albeit at lower levels.”
And United Tech: “Most importantly, order-rate declines for most of our businesses appear to have stabilized, albeit at lower levels.”
VIDEO0:0000:00Albeit...
How about Marriott: “In the third quarter, we were pleased to see occupancy improve from the second-quarter levels, albeit still down year-over-year.”
While these statements may have been permissible at Dow 8,000, Cramer said, they are not at Dow 10,000. At this level, investors want to hear, “After stabilizing, we are now seeing sales accelerate” to levels at or above those before the downturn. But, again, the only firms saying that are GOOG, AAPL and AMZN. There are a few other tech companies touting stability at pre-downturn figures – Microsoft, Intel, Marvell Tech and SanDisk – but they’re not seeing sales growth beyond that point.
Outside of tech, there isn’t much stabilization at all, certainly not in oil and natural gas, most of the banks and many retailers. And with so few companies at least finding some solid footing, there isn’t enough positive earnings news to push us beyond Dow 10K. Cramer even wondered if we’d seen the highs for the year, unless, of course, some catalyst presents itself to drive stocks higher.
Cramer said he expects mutual funds to take up stocks at the end of the month, but we need to see some earnings power to sustain a legitimate rally – and we don’t have it.
So what happens now?
“I fear the market will soon stabilize, too,” Cramer said, “albeit at lower levels than where we are at this very moment.”
Cramer's charitable trust owns Cooper Industries.
Call Cramer: 1-800-743-CNBC
Questions for Cramer?
Questions, comments, suggestions for the Mad Money website? madcap@cnbc.com
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c34351b8e11f24c5a3597fa648210806 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/26/cramer-washington-doesnt-care-about-stocks.html | The market’s early gains on Monday gave way to triple-digit losses, Cramer said, and “that’s the kiss of death.”
With the Dallas Federal Reserve’s “not so hot” Texas manufacturing report and the dollar’s rise, which brought down oil and gold, he said, investors could short “pretty much anything.”
Cramer's 5 Breakout Bank Stocks
“It just seems like there’s very little risk to it right now,” Cramer said.
Amazon.com’s strong earnings, released early Monday, were part of the reason stocks pushed higher at first. Cramer said there was a “tremendous dichotomy” right before the report, as Wall Street feared a major move by Walmart into the Internet retail space. But Amazon is the Web’s lowest-cost producer, not WMT, because of the company’s strong fulfillment operations. In fact, Cramer said Amazon has exactly what Walmart needs to keep its online expenses down.
“If Walmart can’t be low cost,” he asked, “why go there?”
VIDEO0:0000:00Stop Trading, Listen to Cramer!
When it comes to steel, Cramer said to buy Nucor and sell US Steel .
Lastly, investors don’t seem to understand the much-debated health care public option, Cramer said. Many states with strong competition among private companies might not feel the public option’s effects, but that hasn’t stopped Wall Street from shorting health maintenance organizations like Humana , WellPoint and United Health anyway. Cramer blamed the government’s lack of sensitivity to the market for the trouble.
“It’s a free-fire zone,” Cramer said, “because Washington doesn’t care about what happens to stocks.”
Cramer said he doubts the public option will hurt these companies in the long run, but given the present environment, “Who wants to be long” on the stocks?
Call Cramer: 1-800-743-CNBC
Questions for Cramer?
Questions, comments, suggestions for the Mad Money website? madcap@cnbc.com
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fbd780a43978e850e23f2dad0c0d672b | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/26/getting-boomers-back-to-work.html | Getting Boomers Back To Work | Getting Boomers Back To Work
Job Losses
Next week we will learn the official government unemployment number for October and it’s likely to be above 10%.
So even as the stock market has been climbing and some banks have been reporting strong results, more and more Americans are getting pushed out of work.
And while the Obama Administration has promised more jobs via various stimulus programs, most of those positions have been in construction, education and health care.
Where does that leave thousands of managers and executives? Unemployed – that’s where.
Career coaches and search firms report an unprecedented number of highly qualified, very talented professionals who have been dislocated from their white collar jobs in the past two years.
Many have been unemployed for 18-24 months – virtually unheard of in the U.S. Economy in our lifetime. Some have 25 or even 30 years experience in sales, human resources, engineering, marketing, journalism or general management.
The unemployment among professionals and executives has almost doubled in the past year, so not surprisingly, traffic at workforce training centers and employment seminars has more than doubled too. These folks have drained savings, dipped into 401(k) plans, and in some instances settled for lower paying temporary jobs while they look for positions at their levels.
My question is: what will the Obama Administration actually do about this issue?
Given the “new normal” – it’s unlikely the private sector will rehire even 50% of these people in the next five years. But having this force be unemployed or under-employed is a terrible waste of talent, especially at such a crucial time in our nation’s history.
I suggest that the President openly embrace this as an issue of importance and form a commission of public and private sector leaders to devise solutions. It’s not only the right thing to do, it might also be politically wise given the size and potential activism of the Boomer Generation.
More Executive Strategies on CNBC.com:Where To Find A Job NowHottest States For Green JobsToday's Riskiest JobsExecutive Career Strategies
________________________________Erik Sorenson is CEO of Vault, the Web’s most comprehensive resource for career management and job search intelligence. Vault provides top talent with the insider information they need to make critical career decisions. An Emmy award-winning media industry veteran, Erik served as president of the MSNBC cable news channel through 2004. His experience spans radio, local and network broadcast television, cable and syndicated TV, and the Web.
Comments? Send them to executivecareers@cnbc.com
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8eaebece2a7079e979de63bbdf902376 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/26/gold-has-more-room-to-run-commodities-expert.html | Gold Has More Room to Run: Commodities Expert | Gold Has More Room to Run: Commodities Expert
Gold prices have had a sharp run up over 41 percent in the last year. But with money piling in and more people bullish than bearish on gold, does it have more room to run? Rebecca Patterson, head of global foreign exchange and commodities at JPMorgan Private Bank shared her views.
VIDEO0:0000:00Gold: More Room To Run?
“When the dollar falls, gold strengthens; when the dollar rises, gold falls,” Patterson told CNBC.
“That relationship’s been getting stronger over the last 10 years. It’s one of the reasons why if we do get a dip in gold, we’d be looking to buy it because the dollar is going to get weaker from here.”
Patterson said $1,026 would be a “big technical support level” for gold and her firm would be looking to buy at that range.
“We’ve been selling a ton of puts on gold—short-term puts, 6 months or so with 975 strikes**," said Patterson. "If it fell that much, we’d be thrilled to buy gold.”
CNBC Data Pages:
Track Gold and Other Commodities Here Where's the US Dollar Today?CNBC.com Education Center
Patterson said she expects gold prices to go higher and the dollar to go lower.
“Maybe not so much against the euro, sterling or yen, but on a broad basis, we are still happy to be bears on the dollar,” she said.
More Market Intelligence:
Oppenheimer's Belski on Gold PricesTech vs. Industrials—Where to Invest: StrategistsThe Truth About the V-Shaped Recovery: Charts
______________________________CNBC Slideshows:
The World's Biggest Gold Reserves
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** Strike: The specified price on an option contract at which the contract may be exercised, whereby a call option buyer can buy the underlier or a put option buyer can sell the underlier. The buyer's profit from exercising the option is the amount by which the strike price exceeds the spot price (in the case of a call), or the amount by which the spot price exceeds the strike price (in the case of a put). In general, the smaller the difference between spot and strike price, the higher the option premium . also called exercise price. (Check Out:CNBC.com Education Center)
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CNBC's Companies in the News:
Caterpillar
Caterpillar Cuts 2,500 Workers, Recalls Others
Berkshire Hathaway
Buffett: US Anger Over Financial Crisis 'Understandable'
Comcast
General Electric*
Comcast And NBC Uni, Good But Not Great Deal: Analysis
*GE is the parent company of CNBC and CNBC.com
______________________________ Disclosures:
No immediate information was available Patterson or her firm.
______________________________
Disclaimer
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4c61c4966ee4a73cfe5cd716bc8c0e89 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/26/halftime-report-buying-opportunities-amid-mondays-selloff.html | On Monday, the traders were closely watching the action in the S&P 500 which turned on a dime – or should we say dollar. A stronger greenback triggered a big intra-day reversal with both commodities and related natural resource stocks tumbling.Should you sift through the rubble for buying opportunities? Or is the run done?
VIDEO0:0000:00Fast Money Halftime Report
Instant Insights w/ the Fast Money traders
Leadership in the market has been oil and commodities, explains Fast Money trader Joe Terranova. And a stronger dollar weakens them both. As a result you see the move in the dollar weighing down the S&P. Although I’ve been bullish in the past I would not go picking through the rubble for beaten down stocks, he adds. Not yet. The market looks tired. Personally, I’m out of my positions in both gold and crude oil. I agree, the momentum is on the negative side, adds OptionMonster Jon Najarian, and not only in commodities but also financials. The money center banks just rolled over after the WSJ reported “BofA’s attempt to repay federal bailout funds and escape the government's grasp has been snagged by a disagreement over how much additional capital the bank must raise to satisfy regulators.”
I’m a buyer of this market, counters Zach Karabell of RiverTwice. The story du jour is the dollar but I don’t think today’s movement in the market means very much unless you’re a very short term trader. If dollar strength leads to a sell-off in Freeport McMoRan, I’m a buyer but as a long-term investment.
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CHART OF THE DAY: DOW TRANSPORTS
Meanwhile the traders are closely watching action in the Dow Transports, which suggest to some analysts that this highly watched index may be showing signs of a double top – traditionally a bearish sign.
The transports have not made a higher high since September 15th, which is a troublesome signal, explains host Melissa Lee. And on a fundamental note, Burlington Northern raised a red flag about freight volumes dragging down this index.If you’re a Dow Theorist that’s not good. What should you know?I’m not a Dow theorist and would instead recommend looking at the fundamentals of the market to form a trading thesis, counsels Mike Khouw of Cantor Fitzgerald. I think the pullbacks are probably creating opportunities, albeit selectively.I expect to see the Transports go lower, counters Jon Najarian. The technical signal described above is a technical signal for a 10% correction. UNP and BNI are probably going to slip.
I think it’s absolutely a mistake to look at the Dow transports as a proxy for the earnings that are driving global earnings, counters Zach Karabell. The Dow Transports are largely made up of companies that operate the North American transport system. US transports are not a proxy for global names.----------CALL THE CLOSE
Mike Khouw: It seems like the sentiment is bearish.Jon Najarian: I’m a seller into the close.Zach Karabell: If energy, industrial and commodities sell-off I’d look for opportunities as long-term investments.Joe Terranova: (Joe use a baseball analogy to explain that he doesn’t see a catalyst to take the market higher)
______________________________________________________Got something to to say? Send us an e-mail at fastmoney-web@cnbc.com and your comment might be posted on the Rapid Recap. If you'd prefer to make a comment but not have it published on our website send those e-mails to .
Trader disclosure: On October 26th, 2009, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC’s Fast Money were owned by the Fast Money traders; Adami Owns (AGU), (BTU), (C), (GS), (INTC), (MSFT), (NUE); Najarian Owns (BIDU) Dec. Call, Is Short (BIDU) Nov. Call; Najarian Owns (DNDN) Calls, Owns (DNDN) Puts; Najarian Owns (YHOO), Is Short (YHOO) Calls; Terranova Is Short (FCX)For Joe-TerranovaTerranova Works For (VRTS)Terranova Is Chief Market Strategist Of Virtus Investment Partners, Ltd.Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (XLY)Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (CAL)Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (CLB)Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (DLR)Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (EXR)Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (XLI)Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (IGE)Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (XLB)Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (DBA)Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (DBV)Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (UA)For Dennis GartmanFunds Managed By Gartman Are Short SterlingFunds Managed By Gartman Own Canadian DollarCNBC.com with wires
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b77a8a9cde0602125755ef677a7af736 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/26/hutchison-talks-healthcare-takeover.html | Hutchison Talks Healthcare Takeover | Hutchison Talks Healthcare Takeover
Is the government’s insurance plan back from the dead?
VIDEO0:0000:00Senate Takes on Cap & Trade
Here’s my interview with Kay Bailey Hutchison, Texas Republican Senator and gubernatorial candidate, on the government’s attempt to takeover the U.S. healthcare system.
The interview begins at the 3:04 mark.
Questions? Comments, send your emails to: lkudlow@kudlow.com
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d39b6646a88d5b9604cb1be5616fc908 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/26/im-worried-about-gold-prices-oppenheimers-belski.html | I'm 'Worried' About Gold Prices: Oppenheimer's Belski | I'm 'Worried' About Gold Prices: Oppenheimer's Belski
Gold prices continued to rise on Monday, nearing $1,060, as the U.S. dollar fell. Brian Belski, chief investment strategist at Oppenheimer & Co., shared his insights on gold, stock markets, and more.
VIDEO0:0000:00Belski Remains Bullish
“The long-gold and short-dollar trade is as crowded right now as the long tech trade was in 1999,” Belski told CNBC.
“Typically and historically, when you have everybody agreeing on the same trade you should become worried. It’s always good to be contrarian if you have the analysts to back you up, and we think we have the analysis to back up 'to be more worried about gold' right now.”
CNBC Data Pages:
Dow 30 Stocks—In Real Time Oil, Gold, Natural Gas Prices Now Where's the US Dollar Today?
Belski said investors typically buy gold because the market either is going into a recession—or because it’s hyperinflation.
“Neither one of those things are happening right now,” he said. “The economy’s going to recover and we’re not going to see inflation in this country for several quarters.”
Belski on Stock Markets:
Additionally, Belski said 1,180 is his next target on the S&P 500 in the next 12 months. He favors the technology, industrials and health care sectors. Belski said his least favored sectors are consumer staples and utilities.
More Market Intelligence:
Oil Could Dip Below $70: The Schork ReportThe Truth About the V-Shaped Recovery: ChartsFalling VIX a 'Very Bad Sign': Market Expert
______________________________CNBC Slideshows:
The World's Biggest Gold Reserves
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______________________________CNBC's Companies in the News:
Caterpillar
Caterpillar Recalls Some of Its Laid-Off Workers
Fifth Third
SunTrust
Analyst Bove Cuts Fifth Third, SunTrust to Sell
Legg Mason
Legg Mason to Elect Investor Peltz to Board
Sony
Sony Looks for Box Office Hit With 'This Is It'
______________________________ Disclosures:
No immediate information was available for Belski or his firm.
______________________________
Disclaimer
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e13f557149ade5ece891e6885d63b0c6 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/26/in-beerland-theres-no-pumpkin-shortage.html | Consumer Nation | Consumer Nation
There's no pumpkin shortage in the beer aisle.
Although there has been much discussion of how bad weather has hurt supplies of pumpkins, both canned and on the vine, a trip to the store will show there's a bumper crop of pumpkin ales.
This trend reflects a continued consumer shift toward craft beer as well as a hardy appetite for seasonal beers.
Although pumpkin ale may seem like a new trend, the brewing of pumpkin ale actually dates back to the colonial era. With scarce supplies of barley and other beer-making ingredients, the founding fathers had to make do with what was on hand. That included parsnips, molasses and, yes, pumpkins.
As Old World ingredients became more plentiful, brewers shifted away from pumpkins. However, in recent years, craft brewers began experimenting with the ingredient again.
At Brooklyn Brewery, Post Road Pumpkin Ale is its third most popular seasonal beer, said Steve Hindy, the brewery's founder and president. (The brewery's most popular seasonal brew is its summer ale, followed by its Octoberfest, Hindy said.)
Wine Industry In The...Red
"It's a very successful seasonal beer for us," Hindy said. So much so that Brooklyn Brewery has increased the amount of pumpkin ale it made this year.
"The key to seasonal beer is to brew too little so that you run out of beer," Hindy said.
Although this segment has been dominated by smaller brewers, the big boys are now playing in the pumpkin patch. Anheuser Busch Inbev is now brewing up Jack's Pumpkin Spice Ale, while Molson Coors Brewing has Harvest Moon Pumpkin Ale.
Neither of these pumpkin ales are likely to move the sales' needle for Anheuser-Busch and Molson Coors, but that isn't really the point. With a greater portion of sales shifting to craft beers each year, the big brewers are likely experimenting to see what this segment of the U.S. market likes. Plus, seasonal beers can be a fun way to coax consumers to try a brand.
According to the Brewers Association, sales volume in the craft brewing industry has increased by 5 percent, while sales, as measured by dollars, is up 9 percent during the same period. This growth has allowed craft brewers to gain market share as overall U.S. beer sales are down 1.3 percent during the first first six months of the year, the Brewers Association said.
Still, these brands are facing a headwind, said Frank Walters, director of research at Impact Databank. He expects beer sales to be flat to down this year because consumers are so price sensitive.
Most of the pumpkin ales are priced at premium, which means you'll likely pay $7 or more for a six-pack.
Why Halloween Is Recession-Proof for Some Retailers
But for those who want to splurge on a pumpkin ale, critics say the best of the crop tend to be the ones made with real pumpkin. Most pumpkin ales are mild, without much bitterness and a malty backbone. Often, these beers have hints of pumpkin pie spices such as ginger, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon and allspice.
However, unlike in colonial times, no one makes beer exclusively out of pumpkin. In order to make a tastier drink, the pumpkin, be it roasted or pureed, is mixed with malt, hops, yeast, and water.
Of course, you could attempt to brew your own beer in a pumpkin. We found a Web site that serves up step-by-step instructions. But be warned, they say this should not be attempted by first-time brewers.
More from Consumer Nation:
What's Really Behind the Wal-Mart-Amazon Price War?Coupons Via Cellphone: Whipping Up the Impulse BuyTop Toy Trends: Me, I Want A Huuuuulaaaa Hooop!
Questions? Comments? Email us at consumernation@cnbc.com
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825412a015a27a21dce356c55eb4a21e | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/26/market-has-quite-a-bit-of-upside-stock-picker.html | Market Has 'Quite a Bit' of Upside: Stock Picker | Market Has 'Quite a Bit' of Upside: Stock Picker
Stocks retreated Monday, led by financials, as the dollar rebounded and Dutch bank ING announced plans to split in two. Greg Merlino, president and founder of Ameriway Financial Services, and Lawrence Glazer, managing director at Mayflower Advisors, shared their market insights.
VIDEO0:0000:00CNBC Market Edge
“The consumer is back and beginning to participate in the economy,” Glazer told CNBC.
“In the short run, that’s driven by policies for stimulus, cash for clunkers, homebuyer credit and that’s positive going into the all-important retail holiday season."
"However, in the long run, we do need to see unemployment come down and energy prices stay in check for consumers to continue to participate—and those headwinds do remain, longer term.”
Glazer said dividends are “very underappreciated” in this market and told investors to look into Verizon Communications.
He also likes iShares Dow Jones Select Dividend Index, iShares Barclays TIPS Bond and PowerShares VRDO Tax-Free Weekly .
In the meantime, Merlino told investors not to focus on the housing and unemployment numbers.
CNBC Data Pages:
Dow 30 Stocks—In Real Time Where's the US Dollar Today?Track Treasury Prices Here
“Those two things are lagging indicators and unfortunately, investors focus on those headline topics,” he said. “This economy is starting to improve, things look a lot better than a lot of people anticipated and I think the market has quite a bit on the upside.”
Merlino said he likes the large-cap technology areas and told investors to look into Google.
______________________________CNBC Slideshows:
The S&P 500's Leanest Companies
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______________________________ Disclosures:
No immediate information was available for Glazer or Merlino.
______________________________
Disclaimer
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2a16faa78e615a4b08baefead2edea9d | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/26/markets-happy-about-a-yankees-world-series.html | Markets Happy About a Yankees World Series | Markets Happy About a Yankees World Series
Congratulations New York on its 40th World Series! Sure Wall St. is in the same city as the Bronx Bombers home field, but the real reason the bulls on the street want the Yankees to win the World Series is the lift the men in pinstripes seem to give the markets.
New York Yankee celebrating after winning Game 6 of the ALCS against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.Getty Images
Since the first World Series in 1903, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has averaged an annual gain of 7.17%. When the Yankees have been in the World Series (39 times before this year, 26 wins), the average goes up to 7.76%. When the Yankees have won, the average climbs to 7.84% while it drops to 7.60% when they have lost. The Dow is up 13.6% YTD this far and if it holds on to its gains, the Yankee WS average will now go up again.
The best Yankees year for the markets: 1928 when the Yankees swept the St. Louis Cardinals in four games and the Dow gained 49.5% for the year. The worst year: 1937 when the Yankees beat their cross-town rivals, the NY Giants, 4 games to 1 but the market finished down 32.8% for the year.
Comments? Send them to bythenumbers@cnbc.com
bythenumbers.cnbc.com
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3cf1a8a6a89cb035d5ab16179ba6b927 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/26/markets-remain-resilient.html | Markets Remain Resilient | Markets Remain Resilient
The Dow Industrials continues to teeter round the 10,000 level, while the S&P 500 has hit some resistance around its 1,100 level over the past week.
Still, the Dow has risen 56% since its 12.5-year low in March, while the S&P has soared 56% during that time. Despite this significant run-up, the Dow is still off 29% and the S&P remains 30% from their historic highs set back in October 2007.
Regardless, the markets have been very resilient during this recovery period - defying expectations from many market observers for a market correction after the significant run-up. In fact, since March, the S&P’s biggest (and longest) pullback was a 7% decline in a downward trend that lasted one month and ended with the start of the summer rally in July. While that was a notable retreat, it was a far cry from the 10%, 15%, and even 20% correction some market watchers had been expecting.
>> Top Stocks Since the Rally Began
Overall, the markets have fended off attempts to pull back fairly well. Aside from the June-July retreat, the market has had only six other instances of minor, but notable, dips since March. Those declines have been only slightly over 4%, on average, and have been short in duration – lasting no more than 8 trading sessions. Even so, half over those six notable pullbacks only lasted 1-2 days.
Comments? Send them to bythenumbers@cnbc.com
bythenumbers.cnbc.com
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a7d122dd3d08ce1ad49f5266fdd86051 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/26/netflix-to-stream-movies-on-the-ps3.html | Netflix to Stream Movies on the PS3 | Netflix to Stream Movies on the PS3
Streaming movies are coming to the PlayStation 3.
Source: Netflix
Netflix and Sony on Monday announced a partnership that will let owners of the gaming system instantly watch roughly 17,000 movies and TV shows.
The deal marks the second console gaming system Netflix has partnered with. Last November, the company began offering its streaming service to the Xbox 360.
The Sony partnership is something of a blow to Microsoft, which broadly touts the relationship as it champions the Xbox 360 as more than just a game machine. The ability to stream films is part of the company’s strategy to lure non-gamers who may be thinking about buying a Nintendo Wii.
Streaming via the PS3 will begin next month and will be available free to all Netflix customers who own the system. Microsoft only offers streaming to subscribers of its Xbox Live Gold program, which carries a $50 annual charge.
The Xbox 360 has outsold the PS3 in the U.S. so far this generation. (There are currently 9 million PS3s in U.S. homes.) That advantage is muted somewhat, though, when the number of Xbox Live Gold subscribers is taken into account.
Developing relationships with console makers has been a significant business driver for Netflix. Wedbush Securities estimates the agreement with Microsoft has driven an estimated 600,000 to 800,000 new customers to Netflix over the past year. It expects the Sony arrangement will have a similar effect – adding 200,000 or more new customers before the end of the year.
The streaming service tends to result in less customer churn than Netflix’s disc-by-mail model, even though it mainly delivers older catalog movies. It’s currently an added incentive for disc-by-mail customers, but the company is testing a streaming-only service internationally and is expected to bring that to the U.S. within the next year.
It’s also cheaper for Netflix, as streaming carries no postal expenses and lower customer acquisition costs.
Netflix had forecast the news in its earnings call last week, saying it was about to announce a deal on a device that had a "material installed base." Investors and analysts instantly began pointing to the PS3 or Wii and, as a result, the company’s stock hit a new high Friday.
The Wii would have been a larger installed base for the company, but now that Netflix and Microsoft no longer have an exclusive relationship, analysts say it’s just a matter of time before Nintendo’s console offers the service as well.
“We anticipate that a similar arrangement will be announced for the Wii in the next 12 months,” says Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter.
There are subtle differences in the ways Xbox 360 and PS3 customers will stream Netflix movies. The service is currently implemented into the framework of Microsoft’s service, meaning customers are able to stream films from the ‘dashboard’ of their console simply by pressing a button.
Sony customers will need to request a Blu-ray disc containing a Netflix access program to stream films – and will need to insert that disc every time they want to access the service. It’s a small intermediate step, but one that does make the service a bit less impulse-driven.
Pachter believes the disc-based streaming method was how Sony was able to work around Microsoft’s exclusive relationship with Netflix. (Terms of the deal between those two companies were never announced – so it’s also possible any period of exclusivity might have expired.)
Netflix stock has been climbing steadily since it began expanding its streaming service, with share prices more than doubling over the past year. In addition to gaming consoles, the company offers the ability to instantly watch movies via personal computers, select Blu-ray players and the Roku set-top box.
While renting DVDs through the mail is still more popular with its customers, since it includes recent releases, the streaming service is gaining traction. About 42 percent of Netflix's customers streamed at least 15 minutes of video in the third quarter, up from 22 percent at the same time last year.
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b4d2a4aae21bd2f0fbe4a205839fdb69 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/26/new-signs-of-asias-recovery.html | New Signs Of Asia's Recovery | New Signs Of Asia's Recovery
More evidence that Asian economies are recovering: South Korea's GDP grew at a better than expected 2.9 percent quarter over quarter in Q3 (consensus was 1.9 percent).
Markets Happy About a Yankees World Series
We will get a first look at the U.S. GDP for Q3 this Thursday. Consensus is for growth of 3.2 percent, the first positive number since Q2 of 2008.
Market Outlook: Buyer's Fatigue?
The commodity rally continues: copper is at its highest level this morning since September 2008.
Elsewhere;
1) Corning beat Q3 earnings estimates ($0.42 vs. $0.39 est) as sales also came in above expectations. Stronger demand for LCD televisions helped boost LCD glass volumes by 4 percent.
For the fourth quarter, Corning sees glass volumes flat to down slightly on a sequential basis, but expects demand to continue to be strong next year. The display manufacturer sees 2010 global LCD TV and laptop computer sales rising 20 percent from 2009 levels, with glass production rising 15 percent.
2) RadioShack missed estimates by a penny, but shares are rising 5 percent pre-open due to its top line surprising to the upside. Sales fell a smaller-than-expected 3 percent as stronger wireless phone and laptop computer sales helped comp. store sales fall significantly less than expected in the quarter (down 2.9 percent vs. down 8.2 percent est.).
3) Verizon topped Q3 earning estimates by a penny as revenues came in inline with estimates. The telecom company reported it gained 1.2 million wireless customers in the quarter, a bit more than expected.
4) Rochdale's Richard Bove downgrading both Fifth Third and SunTrust to a sell, saying the outlook for earnings growth is not good and that SunTrust may not show a profit until 2011. Bove also had negative commentary on Wells Fargo last week.
5) Blackstone is reportedly eyeing an IPO of its European-based Merlin Entertainments business early next year. The Financial Times reports that the IPO of the world's second biggest theme park operator could fetch $3.3 billion.
6) ING is down 8 percent after the Dutch financial services firm announced it will split itself into separate companies. The bank will spin off its insurance operations into a separate institution in a likely IPO within the next four years.
Also weighing on the shares is the bank's announcement of an $11.3 billion issuance in new shares. The proceeds from this share sale will help the bank payoff bailout funds it received from the Dutch government.
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The Dow 30 in Real TimeThe CNBC Stock Blog
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Questions? Comments? tradertalk@cnbc.com
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83cf9f3181dd59b92325c4e791897da0 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/26/newspaper-circulation-down-106-percent.html | Newspaper Circulation Down 10.6 Percent | Newspaper Circulation Down 10.6 Percent
The decline in U.S. newspaper circulation is accelerating as the industry continues to struggle with reader defections to the Internet and tumbling ad revenue.
NewspapersValerie Everett
New figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulations show that average daily circulation dropped 10.6 percent in the April-September period from the same six-month span in 2008.
That's greater than the 7.1 percent decline in the October-March period.
Sunday circulation fell 7.5 percent.
As expected, The Wall Street Journal has surpassed USA Today as the top-selling newspaper in the United States.
Newspaper sales have been declining since the early 1990s, but the drop has accelerated in recent years. Circulation revenue has largely held up, though, because of price increases.
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c1618bb044f9fc5a14310754b58a934e | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/26/roubini-vs-bulls-whos-winning.html | Are the bulls starting to lose their grip on this market? If you ask Nouriel Roubini, he would likely tell you, “yes!” During a CNBC interview the market maven again made the case that the market’s day of reckoning may be at hand.
Specifically he expressed concern that Wall Street is way out of step with Main Street -- he thinks investors are pricing in a V-shaped recovery that likely won’t happen. And “If earnings data surprises on the downside (and shows the recovery is not V-shaped) then there is going to be a significant correction."
VIDEO0:0000:00Dow Stuck at 10,000
As for the sharp move higher in the price of oil, Roubini doesn’t see any reason for that either. "It seems to me that this rally in oil prices is way ahead of the economy," he said.
And Roubini doesn’t think banks are out of the woods either with more losses likely ahead. That sounds bleak but it’s probably not surprising you, coming from Roubini, who has been nicknamed Dr. Doom.And we’d be remiss not to acknowledge that there’s another side to the argument and one that’s much sunnier. Jason Trennert, Strategas Partners chief investment strategist is among those who believe the market is simply taking a pause before heading higher.
“This is a liquidity driven market,” Trennert tells Fast Money. “The fundamentals don’t support the market going up a lot more but I still think it’s more dangerous to be short then to be long.”In other words he’s bullish until the bill comes do. “With all the stimulus in the market it almost has to go up -- but eventually we’ll have to pay for it.”
So how long should you hang on?”I think at a certain point we’ll start hearing things about higher taxes and long term interest rates. They’re almost inevitable due to all the stimulus. When you start to hear chatter about that, then it’s time to get off the train,” Trennert say.
Trennert and Roubini are two smart guys with very different ideas on how events play out. What do you think? We want to know!
______________________________________________________Got something to to say? Send us an e-mail at fastmoney-web@cnbc.com and your comment might be posted on the Rapid Recap. If you'd prefer to make a comment but not have it published on our website send those e-mails to .Trader disclosure: On October 26th, 2009, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC’s Fast Money were owned by the Fast Money traders; Adami Owns (AGU), (BTU), (C), (GS), (INTC), (MSFT), (NUE); Najarian Owns (BIDU) Dec. Call, Is Short (BIDU) Nov. Call; Najarian Owns (DNDN) Calls, Owns (DNDN) Puts; Najarian Owns (YHOO), Is Short (YHOO) Calls; Terranova Is Short (FCX)For Joe-TerranovaTerranova Works For (VRTS)Terranova Is Chief Market Strategist Of Virtus Investment Partners, Ltd.Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (XLY)Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (CAL)Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (CLB)Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (DLR)Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (EXR)Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (XLI)Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (IGE)Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (XLB)Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (DBA)Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (DBV)Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (UA)For Dennis GartmanFunds Managed By Gartman Are Short British Pound SterlingFunds Managed By Gartman Own Canadian DollarSeymour Owns (UNG)Seymour Owns (CX)Seymour Owns (AAPL)Seymour Owns (BAC)Seymour Owns (EEM)Seymour Owns (FXI)Seymour Owns (TTM)CNBC.com with wires
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83b1026222e39daf3b0688d3b150d395 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/26/story-of-indian-pitchers-bought-by-sony.html | Story Of Indian Pitchers Bought By Sony | Story Of Indian Pitchers Bought By Sony
The rights to the improbable story of two kids from Indian villages, who won a pitching contest without even knowing the rules of baseball and were eventually drafted, have been acquired by Sony .
Dinesh Patel (L) and Rinku Singh of the Pittsburgh Pirates.Getty Images
Rinku Singh won the Million Dollar Arm contest and was marketed to teams along with the runner-up Dinesh Patel. Both signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Although the plot doesn't necessarily have the perfect ending yet -- the two pitched 20 innings combined of rookie-A baseball this season -- the fact that they are even on the same playing field with people who have been playing baseball for their entire lives.
Jeff Bernstein of Seven Figures Management, who founded the Million Dollar Arm contest and has served as a father figure of sorts to the two pitchers, negotiated the deal and will be portrayed in the film. The producers, Bernstein said, are slated to be Joe Roth of Roth Films and Mark Ciardi of Mayhem Pictures. Ciardi was behind many real, inspiration sports stories that made it to the big screen, including "Invincible," "The Rookie," "Miracle," and "Secretariat," which is expected to be released in the fall of 2010. The concept for the movie was first developed by Mandt Brothers Productions.
Slideshow: Highest Grossing Movies of All Time
Bernstein said the rights fee was "extremely generous," but that it was more important to go with a team of people who he thought could create the most authentic reproduction. Although the two grew up in agrarian villages and not slums, Bernstein said that the success of Slumdog Millionaire certainly led to more interest in their story.
"If 'Slumdog' had not been so popular, it might have been harder for us," Bernstein said. "But that story was something that could have happened. Our story did happen."
Although Indian actors will play the two, Rinku joked that he wanted the Rock to play him and Dinesh said he'd like to be portrayed by Jason Bourne, also known as Matt Damon. In addition to the movie, Bernstein said he is also in negotiations for a book and a television documentary as well that will come out around the same time as the movie.
Bernstein, Singh and Patel head back to India today for the first time since they left in March 2008 partly to promote the second year of Million Dollar Arm, which will begin in November and run through May. Bernstein said the goal is to draw 1 to 3 million kids in the contest that seeks to find the Indian pitcher who can throw the fastest fastball.
Questions? Comments? SportsBiz@cnbc.com
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a643b97834a08dfe834bfc223b00c30c | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/26/tech-growth-may-be-driven-by-lesserknown-firms.html | Tech Growth May Be Driven By Lesser-Known Firms | Tech Growth May Be Driven By Lesser-Known Firms
The technology sector has been among the market’s top performers this year, and analysts believe the hot streak may well continue in both the near and long terms. But investors should take note: It’s likely that the usual suspects will no longer be leading the way.
Intel Core 2 Extreme Quad-core processorAP
The tech-heavy Nasdaq has climbed 38 percent this year, while the S&P 500 Technology Sector Index has jumped 39 percent. Nonetheless, one research firm is predicting that 2009 will be the worst year on record for technology spending. That means for many companies, there’s still plenty of room for improvement.
“When Lehman failed, people behaved like it was the end of the world, so they stopped buying stuff,” says Gus Richard, senior research analyst at Piper Jaffray. “In semiconductors, which typically is a leading indicator, demand for parts was down 36 percent, and there was no way in the world that demand for tech products was going to fall off that much. We undershot on inventory, and we’ve had sort of a catch up over the last couple of quarters.”
Slideshow: 20 Stocks with Potential to Pop
Worldwide IT spending is on pace to decline 5.2 percent this year, according to Gartner. Worldwide enterprise IT spending has struggled even more, with a 6.9 percent drop expected.
Gartner expects the IT industry to return to growth in 2010, with spending forecast to reach $3.3 trillion, a 3.3 percent increase from 2009. Analysts say much of that growth will come in upgrading corporate data infrastructure.
“Where you’re seeing growth right now is anything related to the data center,” says Toan Tran, technology analyst at Morningstar. “Servers, storage, networking, that’s what’s really been driving the growth of technology.”
Networking Trends
Trends in networking technology will help spur a new upgrade cycle. Brian Marshall, senior analyst at Broadpoint AmTech, points out that about 80 percent of the world’s 10,000 data centers were built before 2000.
By The Numbers: Longest Nasdaq Streak in 14 Years
Marshall says virtualization technology, which allows companies to consolidate servers, storage, and desktops to use those resources more efficiently, will entice companies to invest in upgrading their IT infrastructures.
“The trends in desktop virtualization are so powerful that it’s going to be a billion dollar revenue opportunity for VMware in the next couple of years,” Marshall says. “The professional PC market installed base is roughly 500 million units. Some people believe the market within five years could be penetrated to virtualized desktops. All of your computing and data storage is done at your enterprise data center, so that’s going to be a tremendous opportunity.”
Improving productivity is another big upgrade incentive. In the current economic environment, companies are looking for ways to do more with less, and it’s usually technology that facilitates the biggest productivity gains. John Bright, senior research analyst at Avondale Partners, says more companies will be looking to adopt unified communications platforms into their networks.
redjar
Unified communications refers to integrating voice, data, and video applications over an Internet-based network. It lowers costs by merging all of that traffic onto a single network, and promises productivity gains by simplifying communication and collaboration across a distributed workforce.
“One of the names we like is Plantronics ,” Bright says. “We think it’s well positioned as companies are deploying unified communications.”
Shifting Priorities
While newer networking technologies are poised to lead tech stocks, the prospects for more traditional sectors are looking grim.
The computing hardware market has struggled more than other segments, with worldwide hardware spending forecast to total $317 billion in 2009, a 16.5 percent decline, according to Gartner, which forecasts that 2010 spending on hardware spending will be flat.
Read Jim Goldman's 'Tech Check' Blog
Large corporations put off upgrading their PCs during the recession. And if trends in virtualization hold up, that will spell even more trouble for hardware vendors such as Dell , Hewlett-Packard and Intel.
“If the majority of your profits come from hardware—i.e., servers and desktop computers—that’s going to be a difficult proposition in the future,” Marshall says.
Similarly, analysts expect consumer electronics to struggle as consumers in developed economies become more judicious with their purchases. Instead, expanding technologies to developing economies will help drive growth.
Special Report: People, Planet and Profit
“Tech is only good for two things: toys or productivity,” Richard says. “The high-end consumer market is not a growth area. You’ll have hot product cycles, but you’ll get a shifting growth out of the developed economies to the developing economies. More of the spending will migrate toward low-end products for developing economies.”
Richard cites a World Bank study that reports adding 10 cell phones per 100 people in a developing countries boosts GDP growth by 0.8 percent. Gartner senior vice president Peter Sondergaard took note of this trend in Gartner’s IT spending report.
Telecoms in Emerging Markets
“By 2012, the accelerated IT spending and culturally different approach to IT in [emerging] economies will directly influence product features, service structures, and the overall IT industry,” says the report. “Silicon Valley will not be in the driver’s seat anymore.”
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01c8735c49bde07b0c5351ae57c8171c | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/26/tech-vs-industrialswhere-to-invest-strategists.html | Tech vs. Industrials—Where to Invest: Strategists | Tech vs. Industrials—Where to Invest: Strategists
Industrials or technology—where is the better place for investors? Kim Caughey, VP and senior equity analyst and assistant portfolio manager at Fort Pitt Capital Group and Marc Pado, U.S. market strategist at Cantor Fitzgerald discussed their investment advice.
VIDEO0:0000:00Tech vs. Industrials
“I like the business software [companies] because we have to look at the rebuild cycle,” Pado told CNBC.
“We haven’t seen a big upgrade since Y2K, and productivity’s what’s moving us higher...You benefit without jobs because you increase productivity and you can only get there with technology.”
Pado said technology is likely to be one of the main focuses of future M&A activity and expects the sector to lead the fourth quarter rally.
More Market Intelligence:
The Truth About the V-Shaped Recovery: ChartsTech Stocks: 5 'Outperform' PicksArt Cashin on Today's Markets
In the meantime, Caughey said she prefers the industrials as the developing world continues to develop, regardless of the worldwide recession.
“They’re on sale right now in the developing world and that’s why we like industrials,” she said. “More than that, these companies have the best of world products and that’s why we like them. So regardless of their relative cost, their customers will still be their customers.”
CNBC Data Pages:
Dow 30 Stocks—In Real Time Oil, Gold, Natural Gas Prices Now Where's the US Dollar Today?
Caughey added that many of the U.S.-based industrials have reasonable dividend yields.
“I do like technology as well," she said. "But industrials pay you to own them and techs not so much, and we like those dividend-paying stocks—and you can’t say that for tech,” she said.
___________________________CNBC Slideshows:
The Biggest Holders of US Govt Debt
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______________________________Top Business Software Companies:
IBM
Accenture
Hewlett-Packard
Microsoft
______________________________ Disclosures:
No immediate information was available for Caughey or Pado.
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Disclaimer
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9661962fba086adf4314c0e4b72e9165 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/26/think-like-einstein-to-energize-your-people.html | Think Like Einstein To Energize Your People | Think Like Einstein To Energize Your People
Author David Cottrell (of the Monday Morning Mentoring series) is back with some great ideas on how to generate positive energy at work. I thought you could use this to jump start your week on this Monday Morning.
Guest Author Blog
Learn from Einstein how to energize your organization.
Guest Blog byDavid Cottrell author of Monday Morning Motivation: Five Steps to Energize Your Team, Customers, and Profits
Albert Einstein’s formula E=mc2 has been called the most celebrated equation of all time. He was the first scientist to propose that mass and energy were two forms of the same thing, and that neither appears without the other. His deceptively simple formula laid the groundwork for the development of both nuclear energy and nuclear weapons.
I believe that Einstein’s formula reaches beyond the realm of science and can be applied in the world of business. Creating sustained energy within organizations is one of the principle drivers for long-term success.
Try out this formula to create organizational energy:
E represents your organization’s energy; M represents mass—the people; c represents the conductors of organizational energy and2 represents the leader’s effect on the organization.
Here’s how it works: Every organization has mass—and this mass, required for growth and sustainability, is represented by the employees. The critical mass represents a point at which there exists enough momentum in a movement for the movement to sustain itself and even expand on its own. The critical mass is often moved by a large, sweeping factor, such as a sudden shift in market conditions or the development of a revolutionary product.
Monday Morning MotivationMonday Morning Motivation
Energy must be conducted toward goals.
A conductor is a medium that allows heat, electricity, light or sound pass along it or through it.
The five conductors in our equation include: 1) synchronization—ensures that all the areas are in synch and working together toward a common goal; 2) speed—brings swift, decisive action if adjustments are required; 3) communication—connects the team to goals and ensures that everyone knows their role; 4) customer passion—a strong connection with customers creates customer loyalty, which provides the profits necessary for continued growth; and 5) integrity—ensures the organization adheres to core values like honesty and truth.
Unlike the other conductors, integrity is more like a master switch. If integrity is compromised, the other conductors are unnecessary since the organization will be sapped out of energy.
The force multiplier of energy is the leader whose role is to create a climate where positive energy becomes the conduit for more positive energy. When you hire the right people, surround them with support, help them direct their positive energy and be a positive role model, the positive energy level of the team increases.
Energy is not something you can see, touch, or smell. You can only see its results. Sure, you can sense its presence through enthusiasm for accomplishments. You can also sense its power at various times, but you can’t actually see it, as you can see growth. The only way to measure energy is to understand the conductors of energy—synchronization, speed, communication, customer passion, and integrity. When the conductors are monitored and measured, your energy will be reflected in your bottom-line success.
All organizations have a reservoir of vast energy just waiting to be released. That is the task of the leader—to find ways to tap into that energy, conduct it and multiply it. In taking on that leadership task, remember three things:
Leaders get what they do. You are the role model that your team is following. People follow leaders—more than value statements, mission statements, memos, and emails. The more involved leaders are, the more energy they create. Let your team help - they are collectively better informed than you—all you have to do is ask them the right questions, and you’ll find that they have the right answers.Get the right people in the right jobs. Nothing is more important to the energy of an organization than having the right people on the team.
You are the ultimate energizer. Challenge yourself. Dig deep into the role of a leader. Become a life-long learner. Keep your knowledge fresh and your attitude positive. Develop and apply new skills to help accelerate your growth. Your energy is contagious!
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David Cottrell
David Cottrell is CEO of CornerStone Leadership Institute and author of Monday Morning Motivation: Five Steps to Energize Your Team, Customers, and Profits.
Cottrell, President and CEO of CornerStone Leadership Institute, is an internationally-known leadership consultant, educator, and speaker.
His business experience includes senior management positions with Xerox and FedEx. His 25-plus years of professional experience are reflected in 22 highly acclaimed books. He has been a featured expert on public television and has presented his leadership message to over 250,000 managers worldwide.
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83591309ebbc376a4573ee55336abb82 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/26/we-are-in-the-mother-of-all-carry-trades-roubini.html | We Are in the Mother of All Carry Trades: Roubini | We Are in the Mother of All Carry Trades: Roubini
Most investors follow the same strategy of borrowing in dollars and investing in assets across the world, and there may be a crash in global assets when the greenback's downward trend reverses, Nouriel Roubini, Chairman, RGE Monitor, told CNBC Monday.
Nouriel Roubinicnbc.com
"There is a wall of liquidity…chasing assets," Roubini told "Squawk Box."
"Now we are in the mother of all carry trades," he added.
Asset prices have been inflated by the cheap funds but the dollar cannot keep falling forever, and there could be "a market crash all over the world" when the currency's course is reversed.
But this will not happen too soon as the real economy is still very weak and the Federal Reserve is likely to keep interest rates close to 0 percent for longer, Roubini added.
"The reality is that the dollar is the funding currency of the carry trades. Because of that the dollar weakness is going to continue for a while."
He reiterated his view that the recovery is likely to be anaemic, forecasting growth of between 1 percent and 2 percent for the US in the next two years compared with the country's potential for 3 percent annual growth.
Japan and Europe are likely to grow by less than 1 percent, he said.
"The (stock) markets are pricing in a V-shaped recovery," Roubini said. "If the data surprise on the downside then there is going to be a significant correction."
The price of oil may also be among the assets that will fall.
"It seems to me that this rally in oil prices is way ahead of the economy," Roubini said.
More Trouble for Banks
More losses may be ahead for banks, as the residential property sector fell 30 percent and the commercial property sector is 40 percent down in the crisis, he added.
VIDEO0:0000:00Roubini on the Economy
These losses have yet to be recognized both by big financial institutions and by regional banks, according to Roubini.
"Once they are recognised they will be additional losses for the banking system," he said.
Breaking up banks to avoid systemic risk when they fail may be the correct way to deal with the problem of the economy's vulnerability in relation to the financial sector.
"Why don't we go to a system where they're not too big to fail to begin with?"
Now the problem of banks being too big to fail "is even bigger than before and we've done nothing to resolve it," Roubini said, listing the wave of bank mergers caused by the financial crisis.
Room for Monetary Policy Mistake
The price of gold may continue rising but it is not likely to hit $1,500 as gold bulls predict, he said.
There are only two scenarios in which gold would hit that price, one would be world inflation, which is not likely to happen in next 2 years, and the other the risk of a near depression, which has been averted, Roubini said.
He said he was still worried about the possibility of monetary policy mistakes.
"I think there is room for a policy mistake because damned if you do, damned if you don't."
"It's a very narrow path… to lead us out of this mess without making a policy mistake. And I worry about policy mistakes."
Slideshow: The World's Biggest Gold Reserves
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34e1216692036f242dac436fce3223d7 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/26/your-first-move-for-tuesday-october-27th.html | Here’s our Fast Money Final Trade. Our gang gives you tomorrow’s best trades, right now.
Tim Seymour says “Baidu is going down, try $380.”
Guy Adami suggests short Wells Fargo.
Joe Terranova recommends longResearch In Motion
Pete Najarian thinks Juniper looks interesting. “Keep an eye on this son of a gun,” he says.
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Sector Trade: Take Profits In Top Performers?Considering its the top sector this year, how should you play the tech space?TECH BEST SECTOR THIS YEARTechnology (XLK) +38% Materials (XLB) +38% Consumer Disc. (XLY) +31% Energy (XLE) +22% Financials (XLF) +20%
I’d wait for a pullback before buying, counsels Pete NajarianTech is definitely the place to be long-term, adds Joe Terranova. I’m a strategic buyer on pullbacks.If you’re looking for a short trade I’d short Microsoft with a stop at $29.50, counsels Guy Adami.
VIDEO0:0000:00Fast Money Final Trades
Click here to see other Final Trade posts.
______________________________________________________Got something to say? Send us an e-mail at fastmoney-web@cnbc.com and your comment might be posted on the Rapid Recap! Prefer to keep it between us? You can still send questions and comments to .Trader disclosure: On October 26th, 2009, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC’s Fast Money were owned by the Fast Money traders; Adami Owns (AGU), (BTU), (C), (GS), (INTC), (MSFT), (NUE); Najarian Owns (BIDU) Dec. Call, Is Short (BIDU) Nov. Call; Najarian Owns (DNDN) Calls, Owns (DNDN) Puts; Najarian Owns (YHOO), Is Short (YHOO) Calls; Terranova Is Short (FCX)For Joe-TerranovaTerranova Works For (VRTS)Terranova Is Chief Market Strategist Of Virtus Investment Partners, Ltd.Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (XLY)Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (CAL)Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (CLB)Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (DLR)Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (EXR)Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (XLI)Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (IGE)Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (XLB)Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (DBA)Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (DBV)Virtus Investment Partners Owns More Than 1% Of (UA)For Dennis GartmanFunds Managed By Gartman Are Short British Pound SterlingFunds Managed By Gartman Own Canadian DollarSeymour Owns (UNG)Seymour Owns (CX)Seymour Owns (AAPL)Seymour Owns (BAC)Seymour Owns (EEM)Seymour Owns (FXI)Seymour Owns (TTM)
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a076ad95b9261381ed26e963968855f5 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/27/15-stocks-expected-to-pop.html | 15 Stocks Expected to Pop | 15 Stocks Expected to Pop
At the end of September, we looked at analysts' price targets for the S&P 500 to see which stocks had the greatest expected gains in the months ahead. So far month-to-date, 3 out of the top 5 are and 6 out of the top 10 are trading to the upside (see the Top 20 from September 30 here).
Some of the gainers' initial lift in October was significant enough to move them from the original Top 20. Moody's and Sallie Mae , for example, have gained over 20% each since the start of the month. Others remain waiting for their pop.
Keep in mind that each company has a different numbers of analysts that cover the stock and report their findings to Thomson Reuters which aggregates the data and provides a consensus number. The range of analysts' expectations can be significant. Micron Technology , the number three company on the current Top 15, has the widest price target range, between $4.00 to $18.00 per share, with a mean target of $10.41.
Here is the current list of the top 15 stocks expected to pop as of today's close. Continue on to the next page to see the top 15 expected to drop as well.
Top 15 S&P 500 Stocks with Potential to Pop: (based on difference between current stock price and consensus target)
Top 15 S&P 500 Stocks with Potential to Drop: (based on difference between current stock price and consensus target)
Comments? Send them to bythenumbers@cnbc.com
bythenumbers.cnbc.com
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3a9db8214e6a6fd1518105593d92fec1 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/27/5star-stock-picker-where-to-get-absolute-return.html | 5-Star Stock Picker: Where to Get ‘Absolute Return’ | 5-Star Stock Picker: Where to Get ‘Absolute Return’
While some strategists anticipate the beginning of a market correction, Mark Travis, CEO of Intrepid Capital Funds, said there are still opportunities in this environment. But investors may have to “dig harder” than this time last year.
VIDEO0:0000:00Five-Star Investment Tips
“I’m interested in absolute return,” Travis told CNBC.
“With the rapid rise in prices since the March lows, a lot of securities have reached our private market value. So I’ve probably been a net liquidator over the course of the third quarter.”
Travis said there are still names that offer attractive value, from small companies to larger ones.(Scroll down to see his stock picks.)
Additionally, Travis said the markets will likely move higher based on skepticism amongst investors.
CNBC Data Pages:
Dow 30 Stocks—In Real Time Oil, Gold, Natural Gas Prices Now Where's the US Dollar Today?
“We had a great opportunity last fall in the stock and the bond markets and we took advantage of it. And that’s what we’re reaping the benefit of today."
"But I think it’s materially harder to find attractive valuations right now,” he added.
Travis Likes:
Prestige Brands
C.R. Bard
Travelers
More Market Intelligence:
Charts: Stocks to Push Higher after DipCramer's 5 Breakout Bank StocksMarket Has 'Quite a Bit' of Upside: Stock Picker
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Biggest Dividend S&P 500 Yields
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______________________________ Disclosures:
Travis has investment banking clients who own shares of PBH, BCR and TRV.
______________________________
Disclaimer
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199a1b39baa3fd3c21eb85f989af5deb | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/27/a-timeless-investment-choice.html | A Timeless Investment Choice | A Timeless Investment Choice
As investors continue to ponder whether the recovery in markets is sustainable, some may find that this is the time to put their money in an asset class that lasts.
AP
The downturn has hit the luxury watch market hard. Luxury watch exports from Switzerland, where many of the premium brands are manufactured, have seen a decline of 25 percent over the past 9 months and the slump in demand was especially severe for watches made of precious metals.
However, the picture for "retail" luxury watches seems to bear little resemblance with the "collectible" luxury watch markets for brands such as Patek Philippe, Jaeger Le Coultre or Vacheron Constantin.
Sales of luxury collectible watches have been more resilient in the crisis and have shown buoyant demand as old and new investors fled into the prestigious asset class. Auctions held in May by auctioneers like Antiquorum, Sotheby's and Christie's clocked up a total of 90 million francs.
At a recent collectors' wristwatches auction held by auctioneer Antiquorum in Geneva, the sale of a platinum Patek Philippe set a new world record for its kind and sold for 114 000 Swiss francs ($114,000), while other auctions have seen prices for rare time pieces even reach the million dollar mark in the last several years.
VIDEO8:2508:25Do Watches Hold Timeless Value?
Timing your purchase of a collectible watch may be more important than ever. Jon Cox from Kepler Capital Markets says collectible watches may also offer inflation protection as investors may be worried of higher price levels in the future. He adds that in some countries, a Rolex is even considered a currency.
Investors wishing to avoid the volatility of traditional asset classes, such as stocks or commodities, may find watches are a timeless investment. But as with many things in life, this investment is one for the long-term and requires investors’ patience: the value of collectible watches increases with time.
While age for most other asset classes is associated with depreciation and loss of value, a collectible watch investment ticks differently. The older a timepiece is, the more value it usually holds.
A word of caution for those who hope to make a quick profit: the market for collectible watches is very illiquid as these valuable timepieces are either passed on from one generation to the next or can only be bought and resold at auctions.
The return, and hence the retail price of a watch depends on many factors, beyond just the design and the quality.
Many experts cite the emotional value as being one of the most essential characteristics of a watches’ price: how much a luxury watch will fetch often purely depends on how much a buyer is willing to pay.
Tips for investing in collectible watches:
Reputation is key: Buy a brand with a long history and excellent reputationAge does matter: Timepieces’ value increase with its age. Signs of wear and tear show a watch is authentic and has history, while a polishing only reduces a watches’ value Rarity drives valuation higher: The fewer time pieces of one series exist, the more it will be able to fetch in an auctionQuality is King: As with other assets, the quality of the collectible watch, including its movement, are essential to its value Slideshow: Most Expensive Rare U.S. Coins
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dbd6ea91b0ff74ba2c6d87ff4c744fd7 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/27/activision-blizzards-bobby-kotick-on-dj-hero.html | Activision Blizzard's Bobby Kotick on DJ Hero | Activision Blizzard's Bobby Kotick on DJ Hero
Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard, tells me that "DJ Hero" won't just change his company's business, but will change the world.
Hyperbole? Of course. He's trying to make the point that now music games are accessible to anyone who likes any type of music. You don't have to be an expert gamer; Kotick says the "DJ Hero" turntable is accessible and intuitive. When the game goes on sale at 12:01 Tuesday morning the company is hoping a whole different type of consumer will line up to buy the new game. The "DJ Hero" package of a controller-turntable and game with a lineup of hip-hop, dance and pop music, is designed to appeal to all those music fans that aren't into the rock music and guitar controllers of the previous "Hero" games.
Slideshow: Top 10 Video Games for 2010
This game sticks out from Activision Blizzard's "Hero" predecessors not just because the *type* of music is different, but also because there's just *so* much music. The game features over 100 songs, more than any previous hero title, as well as 93 "mixes" of hip-hop, dance, and pop.
But not only has the downturn in consumer spending hurt video game sales as a whole, but the genre of music games is particularly suffering, and Activision faces newly strong competition. In September The Beatles trounced Guitar Hero 5: Rock Band from MTV Games and Electronic Arts. And while video game console sales were fairly strong in September, sales of the software were disappointing, especially considering the number of big game releases, including "Beatles: Rock Band" and "Guitar Hero 5." Game sales in the U.S. grew five percent compared to the 15 percent analysts were expecting.
VIDEO0:0000:00Activision to Release DJ Hero
Kotick tells me he's not too concerned about those September numbers, saying he expects to see spending return in mid-November and December.
He says he anticipates spending habits to change because of tighter purse strings, for example, consumers will buy presents right before it's time to give a gift, instead of planning too far in advance. Still, there's no doubt that comparisons with last year's stellar sales of the Guitar Hero game will be incredibly tough. Kotick defends Activision/Blizzard's business as international and diverse -- and new "Hero" games create diversity within the genre. But even he acknowledges that if consumer spending *doesn't* come back this holiday season, and then they'll really have to be concerned.
At the end of the day "DJ Hero" won't be all that important to Activision Blizzard's bottom line. The company's biggest game this fall and winter is expected to be "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2." In fact, Pacific Crest analyst Evan Wilson tells me he expects "Modern Warfare 2" to sell 12.5 million units, compared to the just two million units he expects "DJ Hero" to sell. But the fact that there are four new "Hero" games this fall, the most it's ever released in a short time period, indicates the importance of the franchise as a whole.
Questions? Comments? MediaMoney@cnbc.com
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dea7791513dac91c9a9f0760e2c41676 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/27/art-cashin-dollar-carry-trade-could-cause-big-pullback.html | Art Cashin: Dollar Carry Trade Could Cause Big Pullback | Art Cashin: Dollar Carry Trade Could Cause Big Pullback
Markets opened slightly higher on Tuesday after encouraging reports on housing, earnings, and as the U.S. dollar retreated. Art Cashin, director of floor operations at UBS Financial Services, shared his insights.
VIDEO0:0000:00Trader Talk With Art Cashin
“This particular debate as to whether this is really a bull market moving along or where things are going? Some of the brightest minds in the business are on opposite sides and arguing vehemently,” Cashin told CNBC.
“You usually don’t get that.”
He said if people continue to use the dollar as a carry trade and if the trade begins to unwind, investors will have to “scramble to cover their shorts in the dollar.”
CNBC Data Pages:
Dow 30 Stocks—In Real Time Oil, Gold, Natural Gas Prices Now Where's the US Dollar Today?
“That could lead to a kind of chain reaction and that could lead to a bit more than a 10 percent pullback,” he said.
“If it were to be a chain reaction, it would be sharp and sudden—a little bit of what we saw yesterday (Monday).”
Market Point/Counterpoint:
We Are in The Mother of All Carry Trades: RoubiniMarket Has 'Quite a Bit' of Upside: Stock PickerStocks 'Overvalued By At Least 20%,' Rosenberg Says
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Twenty Stocks Ready to Pop
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Goldman Sachs
'Dark Pools' Help Investors: Goldman Sachs
General Electric*
Vivendi CEO Says IPO an Option for NBC Universal
UBS
Merrill's McCann To Head UBS Private Client Group
AIG
Ex-AIG Chief Is Back, Luring Talent From Rescued Firm
Berkshire Hathaway
Buffett: US Anger Over Financial Crisis 'Understandable'
*GE is the corporate parent of CNBC.
______________________________ Disclosures:
No immediate information was available for Cashin or his firm.
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Disclaimer
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25050d439221c4158704eb757bdd9499 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/27/behind-the-money-investor-mutiny-ahead-as-market-loses-its-leader.html | Behind the Money: Investor Mutiny Ahead as Market Loses Its Leader | Behind the Money: Investor Mutiny Ahead as Market Loses Its Leader
The Nasdaq is noticeably underperforming the S&P 500 the last two days after leading this stock market since the rebound in March. The Technology SPDR , which is the top performing sector ETF this year, is also underperforming lately. A market without a leader, can't keep going higher, traders say."They are killing the generals and now the younger troops are getting frightened," said Dennis Gartman, author of the Gartman Letter, required reading on Wall Street. Citing the breakdown in transports as well, Gartman said today "the bull market is in its death throes, I'm afraid."
Take the five-star general Apple for example. The technology bellwether has put in a bearish reversal three days in a row, falling back below the gap higher open that followed its impressive earnings report on Oct. 19.
"The weak consumer confidence number coupled with weak consumer tech names like Apple has me quite concerned," said Brian Kelly, founder of Kanundrum Research and a FM regular. The fact that Apple broke below the level it opened at post those monster earnings (196.80) means a market breakdown should follow soon, said Kelly.
What's more, bearish bets are increasing against the Nasdaq. Near the end of trading today, Jon Najarian said he was seeing 1.7 puts to calls on the PowerShares QQQ Trust which tracks moves in the Nasdaq 100 index. More normal readings are 1.2 put to call, said Najarian, co-founder of OptionMonster.com and one of the best market timers on Fast.
If an army loses its leader, will it find another general willing to lead the charge? Who else is going to step up right now with the economy treading water? No one else had the cash, growth possibilities and insulation from the credit crisis like the technology sector. What has these traders so worried is that there is no new leader to be found.
______________________________________________________Got something to say? Send us an e-mail at fastmoney-web@cnbc.com and your comment might be posted on the Rapid Recap! If you'd prefer to make a comment but not have it published on our website send your message to .
Trader disclosure: On Oct. 23th, 2009, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC’s Fast Money were owned by the Fast Money traders; Najarian Owns (BX); Najarian Owns (GE) Calls; Najarian Owns (LAZ) & (LAZ) Puts; Najarian Owns (MYL) Call Spread; Najarian Owns (RIMM) Call Spread; Najarian Owns (WFT) Call Spread; Najarian Owns (YHOO) & Short (YHOO) Calls; Najarian Owns (STX) Calls; Najarian Owns (CLF) & Short (CLF) Calls; Finerman Owns (RIG), (TGT), (WMT), (WFC), (PDE); Finerman's Firm Owns (BAC) Preferred; Finerman Owns (BAC) Preferred; Finerman's Firm Owns (WFC), (FLS), (MSFT), (PBR), (PDE), (RIG), (PLCE), (TJX); Finerman's Firm Is Short (IJR), (MDY), (SPY), (IWM), (USO), (UNG); Terranova Owns (HES), (JPM), (IBM); Seymour Owns (AAPL), (BAC), (EEM), (FXI), (SBUX)For Jamie Baker:JP Morgan Owns (UAUA) JP Morgan Has An Investment Banking Relationship With (UAUA) JP Morgan Has An Investment Banking Relationship With (CAL) JP Morgan Has An Investment Banking Relationship With (AMR) For Paul Sankey:Deutsche Bank Owns (VLO) (VLO) Is an Investment Banking Client of Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank Has Received Compensation From (VLO) (VLO) Has Been A Client Of Deutsche Bank In Past Year
Deutsche Bank Owns (HES) (HES) Is an Investment Banking Client of Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank Has Received Compensation From (HES) (HES) Has Been A Client Of Deutsche Bank In Past Year Deutsche Bank Owns (BP) (BP) Is an Investment Banking Client of Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank Has Received Compensation From (BP) (BP) Has Been A Client Of Deutsche Bank In Past Year Deutsche Bank Owns (OXY) (OXY) Is an Investment Banking Client of Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank Has Received Compensation From (OXY) (OXY) Has Been A Client Of Deutsche Bank In Past Year (SUN) Is an Investment Banking Client of Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank Has Received Compensation From (SUN) Deutsche Bank Owns (PDE) (PDE) Is an Investment Banking Client of Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank Owns (COP) (COP) Is an Investment Banking Client of Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank Has Received Compensation From (COP) (COP) Has Been A Client Of Deutsche Bank In Past Year Deutsche Bank Owns (CVX)Deutsche Bank Has Received Compensation From (CVX) (CVX) Is an Investment Banking Client of Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank Owns (XOM) Deutsche Bank Has Received Compensation From (XOM) (XOM) Is an Investment Banking Client of Deutsche Bank For Peter SchiffSchiff Is Long Gold Schiff is Short U.S Dollar
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1260958a9ca41d00493c9df8d447a924 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/27/biography-on-cnbc-bill-gates-will-premiere-on-november-12th.html | Biography on CNBC - Bill Gates Will Premiere on November 12th | Biography on CNBC - Bill Gates Will Premiere on November 12th
Biography on CNBC - Bill Gates will premiere on Thursday, November 12th at 10PM ET, and will repeat at 1AM ET.About CNBC:CNBC is the recognized world leader in business news, providing real-time financial market coverage and business information to more than 340 million homes worldwide, including more than 95 million households in the United States and Canada. The network's Business Day programming (weekdays from 5:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m. ET) is produced at CNBC's headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., and also includes reports from CNBC news bureaus worldwide. Additionally, CNBC viewers can manage their individual investment portfolios and gain additional in-depth information from on-air reports by accessing http://www.cnbc.com.Members of the media can receive more information about CNBC and its programming on the NBC Universal Media Village Web site at http://nbcumv.com/cnbc/.
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62ec2d34946ebd67309149f45ae3db4a | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/27/charts-stocks-to-push-higher-after-dip-dollar-lower.html | Charts: Stocks to Push Higher after Dip; Dollar Lower | Charts: Stocks to Push Higher after Dip; Dollar Lower
The rallies in global stocks and the euro, which have been running since early in the year, have both pulled back in recent sessions, but that is only a temporary setback and the trend should soon continue, Roelof van den Akker, chartist at ING Wholesale Banking, told CNBC.
VIDEO3:0403:04Charts: Stocks to Push Higher; Dollar Lower
"We should expect consolidation of the uptrend in line with the equity markets," van den Akker said while looking at a chart of the euro versus the dollar.
"Next horizontal resistance coming in at $1.537 and this large W-pattern is even suggesting a test of the highs of 2008 around $1.60," he said.
Many analysts have noted the apparent tie between the euro and stocks as the two have seen strong gains in tandem throughout much of the year.
Van den Akker thinks the "final rise" in stocks and the euro versus the dollar will happen "within the coming weeks."
- Watch the full interview with Roelof van den Akker above.
For the Investor:
Blog: Here's a Good Reason to Hang on to StocksMSFT Stock Rise Has Little to Do with Windows 7
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8367af6b4bf12372cfc9d9aa818b78f6 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/27/dollar-daze-has-the-greenback-bottomed.html | On Tuesday the U.S. dollar rose to two-week highs against the euro while the dollar index a measure of its performance against six other major currencies, rose to 76.323, a two-week high, well above a 14-month low of 74.94 hit last week.
That’s significant because dollar weakness had largely been driving gains in the stock market, sending commodity prices higher. In turn, they took natural resource stocks along for the ride. Also multinationals benefited as those firms repatriated profits back into dollars.
Of course the consumer was the big loser with the weak dollar sending prices at the pump higher and higher. Has the dollar bottomed and if so what’s the trade?Find out what Peter Schiff, Euro Pacific Capital president says. Watch the video now!
______________________________________________________Got something to to say? Send us an e-mail at fastmoney-web@cnbc.com and your comment might be posted on the Rapid Recap. If you'd prefer to make a comment but not have it published on our website send those e-mails to .
Trader disclosure: On Oct. 23th, 2009, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC’s Fast Money were owned by the Fast Money traders; Najarian Owns (BX); Najarian Owns (GE) Calls; Najarian Owns (LAZ) & (LAZ) Puts; Najarian Owns (MYL) Call Spread; Najarian Owns (RIMM) Call Spread; Najarian Owns (WFT) Call Spread; Najarian Owns (YHOO) & Short (YHOO) Calls; Najarian Owns (STX) Calls; Najarian Owns (CLF) & Short (CLF) Calls; Finerman Owns (RIG), (TGT), (WMT), (WFC), (PDE); Finerman's Firm Owns (BAC) Preferred; Finerman Owns (BAC) Preferred; Finerman's Firm Owns (WFC), (FLS), (MSFT), (PBR), (PDE), (RIG), (PLCE), (TJX); Finerman's Firm Is Short (IJR), (MDY), (SPY), (IWM), (USO), (UNG); Terranova Owns (HES), (JPM), (IBM); Seymour Owns (AAPL), (BAC), (EEM), (FXI), (SBUX)For Jamie Baker:JP Morgan Owns (UAUA) JP Morgan Has An Investment Banking Relationship With (UAUA) JP Morgan Has An Investment Banking Relationship With (CAL) JP Morgan Has An Investment Banking Relationship With (AMR) For Paul Sankey:Deutsche Bank Owns (VLO) (VLO) Is an Investment Banking Client of Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank Has Received Compensation From (VLO) (VLO) Has Been A Client Of Deutsche Bank In Past Year
Deutsche Bank Owns (HES) (HES) Is an Investment Banking Client of Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank Has Received Compensation From (HES) (HES) Has Been A Client Of Deutsche Bank In Past Year Deutsche Bank Owns (BP) (BP) Is an Investment Banking Client of Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank Has Received Compensation From (BP) (BP) Has Been A Client Of Deutsche Bank In Past Year Deutsche Bank Owns (OXY) (OXY) Is an Investment Banking Client of Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank Has Received Compensation From (OXY) (OXY) Has Been A Client Of Deutsche Bank In Past Year (SUN) Is an Investment Banking Client of Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank Has Received Compensation From (SUN) Deutsche Bank Owns (PDE) (PDE) Is an Investment Banking Client of Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank Owns (COP) (COP) Is an Investment Banking Client of Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank Has Received Compensation From (COP) (COP) Has Been A Client Of Deutsche Bank In Past Year Deutsche Bank Owns (CVX)Deutsche Bank Has Received Compensation From (CVX) (CVX) Is an Investment Banking Client of Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank Owns (XOM) Deutsche Bank Has Received Compensation From (XOM) (XOM) Is an Investment Banking Client of Deutsche Bank For Peter SchiffSchiff Is Long Gold Schiff is Short U.S Dollar CNBC.com with wires
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a3ab49d4aca7c602227dc038d93b6d3f | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/27/dow-higher-but-nasdaq-lower.html | With Apple , Google and the rest of technology losing momentum investors are starting to fear that the bull market rally may be out of steam. As Fast Money series producer John Melloy writes in his blog the Technology SPDR has been the top performing sector ETF this year. And a market without a leader, can’t keep going higher.
Meanwhile, the negative tone in Tuesday's action was amplified by a worse-than-expected consumer confidence report.Of the major indexes the Nasdaq fared the worst after Baidu reported quarterly revenue that missed expectations and said its fourth-quarter sales would miss expectations by more than 10 percent. However energy sparked some strength after BP reported third-quarter earnings that beat expectations. The results lifted other energy companies, with Dow components Exxon Mobil and Chevron both making gains.
How should you be positioned?
VIDEO0:0000:00Word on the Street
Strategy Session with the Fast Money traders
We’re losing momentum in earnings, we saw the S&P have trouble at 1100 and now the market leader is starting to unwind, says Joe Terranova. However I do think the broad market held up reasonably well on Tuesday. If we get back above 1070 positive momentum will prevail.
I’m not so sure about that, counters Tim Seymour. If you took away big oil’s impact on the market we would have had a much more dismal day. The economic numbers weren’t good. I’m not sure it’s just tech. I just think the whole thing is breaking down. I think investors are starting to get scared that stimulus is starting to trickle out of the market.
I don’t think the tech trade is over, counters Karen Finerman. If you look at the last 6 weeks, the sector has had an extraordinary run. To give up 2 weeks of that doesn’t worry me. And of all the economic data, the piece I like the least is consumer confidence. It's backward looking and doesn’t really measure anything specific.
And don’t forget that IBM announced a stock buy-back plan, adds Pete Najarian. Investors found that bullish and that helped push the Dowhigher.
I think investors took IBM’s buyback to mean other companies may do something similar, muses Seymour.
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AFTER HOURS ACTION: VISA
After hours, Visa says it turned a profit in its fiscal fourth quarter, as cost cutting and growing debit-card use made up for a decline in payment volume reflecting consumers' spending cutbacks.
The payments processor posted profit of $514 million, or 69 cents per share, on revenue of $1.87 billion. Adjusted profit was 74 cents per share.
Visa's results reflect a growing reliance on debit cards, while banks report higher credit card payment defaults as unemployment persists.
What’s the trade?Betting against Visa has not been a good trade, says Karen Finerman. I would not short this stock.I agree, says JoeTerranova. I’d either be long Visa or step to the sidelines. The same is true of Mastercard.
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MARKET BUZZKILL: IT’S ALL ABOUT CONFIDENCE
As we mentioned above, adding to the negative tone in the market, consumer confidence fell to lower-than-expected levels in October, amid growing concerns that job market conditions will worsen in the near term
As a result, JCPenny , Nordstrom and other consumer discretionary names took a hit.What’s the trade?
In this space, I like names such as TJX or Children’s Place that trade at a low multiple, counsels Karen Finerman. And be careful of higher fliers such as UnderArmour .I agree, says Pete Najarian. In the space it wouldn’t surprise to me see Walmart move higher. Weak consumer confidence might actually benefit them.
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YIELDS BACK OFF
Treasury prices strengthened Tuesday, pushing yields lower, after another strong auction. Investors again welcomed new debt into the market, snapping up $44 billion in two-year notes.
The bid-to-cover ratio, a measure of demand, was 3.63, much higher than 3.23 at an auction in September or the 2.68 in August for notes with a similar maturity.
The two-year note rose 5/32 to 100 3/32, while its yield fell to 0.95 percent from 1.04 percent late Monday.
Graham Allen, a senior portfolio manager of the Touchstone Core Plus Fixed Income Fund, says, "For some time, the dilemma has been, can the market absorb supply? So far we're seeing that it can."
What’s the trade?I’m seeing call buying in the UUP, says Pete Najarian. It says to me investors are getting excited about the dollar – but it could be short-term.From a technical perspective, if the Dollar Index breaks above 77.50 I’d expect to see the dollar move significantly higher, adds Tim Seymour.
-----------TOPPING THE TAPE: EARNINGS PUMP ENERGY STOCKS
Energy shares sparked at least some positive sentiment after BP reported third-quarter earnings that beat expectations. The results lifted other energy companies, with Dow components Exxon Mobil and Chevron both making gains.
Earnings Calendar: Oil
Tuesday: BP, VLOWednesday: COP, HESThursday: XOM, PDEFriday: CVXWhat’s the trade?
I’ve got my eye on Hess , says Joe Terranova. It’s highly correlated to the price of oil so I’m thinking Q3 will be strong. I’d be a buyer of Hess as a bet that oil moves higher from here.
______________________________________________________Got something to to say? Send us an e-mail at fastmoney-web@cnbc.com and your comment might be posted on the Rapid Recap. If you'd prefer to make a comment but not have it published on our website send those e-mails to .CNBC.com with wires
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ba00ea842222f0bb3caddec2440225fe | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/27/exaig-chief-is-back-luring-talent-from-rescued-firm.html | Ex-A.I.G. Chief Is Back, Luring Talent From Rescued Firm | Ex-A.I.G. Chief Is Back, Luring Talent From Rescued Firm
Maurice R. Greenberg, who built the American International Group into an insurance behemoth with an impenetrable maze of on- and offshore companies, is at it again.
Even as he has been lambasting the government for its handling of A.I.G. after its near collapse, Mr. Greenberg has been quietly building up a family of insurance companies that could compete with A.I.G. To fill the ranks of his venture, C.V. Starr & Company, he has been hiring some people he once employed.
AP
Now, Mr. Greenberg may have received some unintended assistance from the United States Treasury. Just last week, the Treasury severely limited pay at A.I.G. and other companies that were bailed out by taxpayers. That may hasten the exodus of A.I.G.’s talent, sending more refugees into Mr. Greenberg’s arms, since C. V. Starr is free to pay whatever it wants.
“Basically, he’s just starting ‘A.I.G. Two’ and raiding people out of ‘A.I.G. One,’ ” said Douglas A. Love, an insurance executive who has also hired A.I.G. talent for his company, Investors Guaranty Fund of Pembroke, Bermuda.
While America generally loves stories of entrepreneurs making a comeback, Mr. Greenberg’s success may be at the expense of taxpayers. People who work in the industry say that if he is already luring A.I.G.’s people, he may soon be siphoning off its business and, therefore, its means to repay its debt to the government.
“To me, it’s just going to be a matter of time before the valuation of what he’s building is greater than the valuation of A.I.G.,” said Andrew J. Barile, an insurance consultant in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.
A.I.G., meanwhile, is struggling to regain its footing. The recipient of the biggest taxpayer bailout in history, it has been ordered by the government to restructure, unwind its complex derivatives and pay back the taxpayers.
At 84, Mr. Greenberg remains larger than life. He spent nearly four decades forging A.I.G. out of private companies, devising its Rubik’s Cube structure and building it into the world’s largest insurance group, with a $1 trillion balance sheet. He lost most of his fortune when the company nearly collapsed last year.
And now, he appears to be starting over.
He was ousted from A.I.G. in an accounting scandal in 2005, and has insisted that he was not responsible for the problems that almost brought down A.I.G. last year — extremely risky trading in derivatives by its financial products unit. At the moment, C. V. Starr does not have a financial products unit, a spokesman for Mr. Greenberg said.
After he was pushed out, Mr. Greenberg fought bitterly with A.I.G. over how to untangle assets that they both laid claim to. Over the summer, he won, earning the rights to $4.3 billion in A.I.G. stock that he had removed from an unusual offshore retirement plan. The company had argued that he had improperly cashed out the stock and used the money to finance new business ventures that were competing with his former company.
With his battles with A.I.G. now largely resolved, Mr. Greenberg is free to use that money as the seed for his latest ventures. Just this month, C. V. Starr leased 141,000 square feet of space — three stories — on Park Avenue in Manhattan, in one of Lehman Brothers’ old headquarters. Previously, he had expressed an interest in buying one of A.I.G.’s prizes, a sprawling global insurance group, but only if he could buy the whole thing. A.I.G. is trying to keep a stake.
Mr. Greenberg declined to comment. But his lawyer, Lee Wolosky, said he was not trying to undercut his former company. “Mr. Greenberg built A.I.G. and wants to see it succeed,” Mr. Wolosky said. He added that since the bailout Mr. Greenberg had been trying to offer consistent advice, both in public and private settings, “about the best course to restore A.I.G. for the benefit of all its stakeholders.” After all, Mr. Greenberg remains A.I.G.’s largest shareholder aside from the government.
As to whether Mr. Greenberg was poaching his former employees, Mr. Wolosky said, “C. V. Starr does employ a number of former A.I.G. personnel, but far fewer than the global insurance companies that are A.I.G.’s direct competitors.” He declined to provide a specific number.
A.I.G. declined to comment.
Treasury officials said their special master for pay, Kenneth R. Feinberg, was aware that if he set pay standards that were too stringent, he could further harm A.I.G. by driving away its executives. “We’re acutely aware of this possibility,” said Andrew Williams, a department spokesman. “That’s why Ken Feinberg spent hours at A.I.G. trying to understand that specific dynamic and strike the right balance.”
Unlike A.I.G., C. V. Starr is privately held, so there is no stock to entice investors, and no disclosure of financial information. Little is known about its business plan, although it has been announcing ventures to insure things as diverse as wayward corporate directors and construction accidents on the bridges and roads being built under the Obama administration’s fiscal stimulus program.
The firm seems to be focusing on the specialized lines of business insurance that once made A.I.G. stand out. The government had hoped to leave those businesses at A.I.G. intact after selling off most of its other operations, like life insurance and household finance.
C. V. Starr is also taking on the same form as A.I.G. — an intricate group of companies, each with its own line of business.
For now, most of those companies do not sell their own insurance, but operate as general agencies, representing insurers from rival groups on products that C. V. Starr does not yet sell.
That way, if C. V. Starr does not yet profit from the underwriting of a line of insurance, it can still receive commission income by selling it. “That’s the beauty of how he structures the company,” Mr. Barile said. “Everything is in such silos that every time you make a transaction, the outside world thinks you’re competing, but you aren’t.”
In March, the Starr Indemnity & Liability Company named Charles H. Dangelo its president and chief executive, after bringing him from A.I.G. Global Risk Management.
A few months later, Starr Indemnity hired another executive from A.I.G., Jim Vendetti, making him its senior vice president and chief underwriting officer. The company also hired a former A.I.G. crisis manager, Alex Pittignano, to build up its businesses of insuring against specialized risks like environmental disasters.
Mr. Greenberg has found ways to exploit A.I.G. without directly hiring former employees. Starr has formed a joint venture with Ironshore, led by the former chief executive of an A.I.G. company called Lexington Insurance. Each of Ironshore’s five new businesses is headed by still more A.I.G. alumni. The joint venture, called Iron-Starr Excess Agency Ltd., is headed by Geoff Smith, an executive hired away from A.I.G. in December. It provides insurance to businesses after they have exhausted their primary insurance.
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47edd69e23053c264100201e3b995b97 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/27/fear-the-vix-market-pros-investment-advice.html | Fear the VIX? Market Pros' Investment Advice | Fear the VIX? Market Pros' Investment Advice
The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), considered the measure for fear in the market, rose to 24 on Tuesday, up 9 percent from yesterday. If volatility is back, what does this mean for stocks and your investments?
VIDEO0:0000:00Is Volatility Back?
Tommy Williams, president of Williams Financial Advisors, and David Dietze, president and chief investment strategist at Point View Financial Services, shared their insights.
“The VIX is at a 1-year low and when the fear gauge is going down and complacency starting to reign, Warren Buffett says 'be greedy when others are fearful and be fearful when others are greedy,'” Dietze told CNBC.
“I don’t know if that means we’re at a cusp of a major selloff, but certainly the risk-reward situation has deteriorated markedly just on that indicator alone.”
More Market Intelligence:
Buy Dry-Bulk Shipping Stocks: Maritime ExpertArt Cashin: Dollar Carry Trade Could Cause Big Pullback5-Star Stock Picker: Where to Get ‘Absolute Return’
In the meantime, Williams said investors do not need to worry about the VIX levels.
“I don’t necessarily think that the best indicator of those opportunities right now is the VIX. It’s one indicator, but there are so many other indicators,” he said.
“We’re overreacting to what happened in the VIX over the last couple of days. I don’t think that’s any kind of trend we can draw a conclusion from as an investor.”
Williams Likes:
S&P Consumer Discretionary
S&P Industrials
S&P Technology
Dietze Likes:
Verizon Communications
AT&T
Pfizer
Merck
______________________________Bookmark CNBC Data Pages:
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______________________________CNBC Slideshows:
America's Biggest Types of Personal Debt
______________________________
______________________________ Disclosures:
No immediate information was available for Dietze or Williams.
______________________________
Disclaimer
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87a454ae396528f3aa849f1457e316c2 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/27/first-on-cnbc-cnbc-transcript-cnbcs-melissa-lee-talks-to-carl-icahn-on-the-latest-on-cit-today-tuesday-october-27th-on-cnbcs-fast-money-halftime-report.html | FIRST ON CNBC: CNBC TRANSCRIPT: CNBC'S MELISSA LEE TALKS TO CARL ICAHN ON THE LATEST ON CIT, TODAY, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27TH ON CNBC'S "FAST MONEY HALFTIME REPORT" | FIRST ON CNBC: CNBC TRANSCRIPT: CNBC'S MELISSA LEE TALKS TO CARL ICAHN ON THE LATEST ON CIT, TODAY, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27TH ON CNBC'S "FAST MONEY HALFTIME REPORT"
Carl IcahnShiho Fukada
WHEN: TODAY, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27TH AT 12:45PM ET
WHERE: CNBC'S "FAST MONEY HALFTIME REPORT"
Following is the unofficial transcript of a FIRST ON CNBC interview with Carl Icahn, Chairman Icahn Enterprises, and CNBC's Melissa Lee, today, Tuesday, October 27th on CNBC's "Fast Money Halftime Report" at 12:45PM ET. Icahn sets the record straight on CIT.
All references must be sourced to CNBC.
************************************************
LEE: EARLIER TODAY, MR. ICAHN ANNOUNCED AN OFFER FOR CIT'S SMALLER BONDHOLDERS WHO HE SAYS HAVE BEEN AT A DISADVANTAGE BY THE RESTRUCTURING PROCESS. CARL, IT IS ALWAYS GREAT TO SPEAK WITH YOU.
CARL ICAHN: GOOD TALKING TO YOU, MELISSA.
LEE: THE DEADLINE IS LOOMING. THURSDAY, 11:59 P.M IS THE ABSOLUTE DROP DEAD PERIOD IN WHICH THE NOTEHOLDERS CAN ACTUALLY CAST THEIR VOTE. AT THIS POINT, WHAT IS YOUR TEAM DOING TO ENSURE YOUR EFFORT SUCCEEDS AND WHAT AT THIS POINT, IS YOUR INDICATIONS TO WHETHER OR NOT IT WILL SUCCEED?
ICAHN: WE'RE DOING SOMETHING I THINK THAT'S SORT OF A FIRST TIME. IT'S A BIT OF A NEW THING IN BANKRUPTCY AND I HOPE IT'S GOING TO CHANGE THINGS A BIT. WE LOOK AT CIT AS THE POSTER BOY FOR WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE WHOLE BANKRUPTCY SYSTEM. WE DECIDED TO GO TO THE SMALL BONDHOLDERS THAT HAVE BEEN TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF BY CIT AND -- TO START, CIT HAS DONE AN ABYSMAL JOB IN RUNNING THIS COMPANY. THE MANAGEMENT AND BOARD AS YOU KNOW, IN '08, LOST 2.8 BILLION. WHILE THAT HAPPENED, THEY PAID THE TOP SIX MANAGERS SOMETHING LIKE 20 MILLION AND JEFF HAD 5.4 MILLION AND THE USE OF AIRCRAFTS AND PLANES AND WHAT HAVE YOU. BUT FORGETTING ALL THAT, WHAT I DON'T WANT TO SEE AND I THINK I'M THE LARGEST BONDHOLDER WITH 2 BILLION FACE AMOUNT, I DON'T WANT TO SEE THIS COMPANY GO BACK INTO THE HANDS OF THE BANKRUPTCY. IN A PREPACKAGED BANKRUPTCY THE WAY IT'S SET UP, IT WILL GO RIGHT BACK INTO CONTROL OF THE GUYS THAT GOT US THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE. THE WAY IT'S STRUCTURED, I BELIEVE WILL CONTINUE TO LOSE 2 TO $3 BILLION.
LEE: FINANCIALLY, WHAT ARE YOU OFFERING THESE SMALLER SHAREHOLDERS? YOU'RE OFFERING WHAT YOU'RE CALLING A PUT OPTION BASICALLY.
ICAHN: THAT'S RIGHT. THE COMPANIES, CIT HAS SCARED THE HELL OUT OF THE BONDHOLDERS AND ESPECIALLY THE SMALL ONES BY SAYING IF IT GOES INTO A FREE FALL BANKRUPTCY, I CALL IT TRADITIONAL BANKRUPTCY, THAT THE BONDS ARE GOING TO GO WAY DOWN.AS LOW AS $6.
LEE: SIX TO 37 CENTS ON THE DOLLAR.
ICAHN: YOU GOT IT. AND WE SAY THAT'S NONSENCE. BUT SAYING PUT MY MONEY WHERE MY MOUTH IS, WE'RE TELLING THE BONDHOLDERS, VOTE AGAINST THIS PLAN AND WE WILL PUT A TENDER OUT AT 60% AT 60 SO YOU CAN'T GET LESS THAN 60. SO YOU CAN MAKE UP YOUR MIND. YOU HAVE 30 DAYS SO YOU GET A FREE PUT, SO FOR 30 DAYS YOU GET YOUR CAKE AND EAT IT, SO TO SPEAK.
LEE: RIGHT.
ICAHN: IF THE BONDS STAY GOOD, YOU CAN KEEP THEM AS YOU WISH OR TENDER THEM TO ME NO MATTER WHERE THEY GO DOWN.
LEE: LET'S SAY I'M A SMALL NOTE HOLDER OUT THERE. THE BONDS ARE TRADING HIGHER THAN THAT RIGHT NOW, AND SO I'M CURIOUSYOU'RE OFFERING THEM PARTICIPATION TO THE UPSIDE WHICH YOU'RE CAPPING AT ABOUT 85 CENTS ON THE DOLLAR.
ICAHN: I BELIEVE IT WILL GO.
LEE: SO THATS THE UPSIDE. YOU'RE BASICALLY SAYING WE'LL GIVE YOU AN EXTRA 25 CENTS ON THE DOLLAR OR SO.
ICAHN: IN A WAY, BECAUSE YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY, THOSE BONDS TODAY AND MAYBE YOU CAN SELL THEM, MAYBE YOU CAN'T.I'M NOT SURE WHAT THEY'RE TRADING. OBVIOUSLY, WE CAN SELL THEM, BUT IF YOU'RE NOT GOING TO SELL THEM, I'D SAY YOU'RE BETTER OFF WITH NOT SEEING THIS PREPACK HAPPEN AND WAITING TO SEE HOW WELL YOUR BONDS WILL DO. BUT IF YOU'RE NERVOUS, SCARED BECAUSE THEY SCARED YOU AND THAT'S WHY YOU MIGHT VOTE FOR THIS OR NOT AT ALL, WE SAY WE'LL PROTECT YOU AT 60 FOR 30 DAYS. SORT OF UNHEARD OF. ITS REALLY A FREE PUT TO THE SMALL INVESTOR. YOU SEE THE SMALL INVESTOR BANKRUPTCY IRONICALLY DOES HAVE A LOT TO SAY. THEY VERY RARELY IF EVER TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE FACT THAT YOU NEED 50% OF THOSE VOTING TO PASS A PREPACK.
LEE: LET ME ASK YOU THIS BECAUSE A LOT OF INVESTORS OUT THERE, THEY LIKE TO TAKE THEIR CUES FROM THE BIG INVESTORS. A LOT OF BIG NOTE HOLDERS AT THIS POINT ARE NOT ON BOARD WITH YOUR CAMPAIGN WHICH IS WHY YOU'RE GOING AFTER THE SMALL NOTE HOLDERS. WHAT DO THEY KNOW THAT THE SMALL NOTE HOLDERS DON'T?
ICAHN: LET ME SPEAK TO THIS WHICH I THINK IS REPREHENSIBLE. I'M NOT LOOKING TO PAT MYSELF ON THE BACK BUT IM NOT TAKING ADVANTAGE OF IT. THE COMPANY HAS GONE OUT TO SOME OF THE BIG NOTE HOLDERS, ESPECIALLY ON SOME OF THESE THATARE PURPORTED TO REPRESENT US, AND GIVING THEM LITERALLY A $200 MILLION GIFT BY LETTING THEM FUND THE DIP IN THE BANKRUPTCY, SO THEY'RE GOING TO THEM AND SAYING, WE'LL LET YOU FUND IT. WE'RE GOING TO PAY YOU $300 MILLION FEE FOR DOING THIS.SO THEY'RE REALLY TAKING ADVANTAGE OF EVERYONE ELSE. NOW, I MEAN I COULD DO IT, TOO, BECAUSE I'M A LARGE BONDHOLDER BUT I'VE TURNED THAT DOWN NOT BECAUSE I'M SUCH A WONDERFUL PERSON NECESSARILY, BUT BECAUSE I THINK IN THE LONG RUN THEY'RE HURTING THE COMPANY. WHEN YOU SEE SOME OF THE LARGER BONDHOLDERS, THEY CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT $300 MILLION GIFT AND SELL THEIR BONDS AND MAYBE THAT'S WHAT THEY PLAN TO DO, BUT I DON'T THINK THAT'S GOOD FOR THE COMPANY AND I DON'TTHINK IT'S GOOD FOR THE SYSTEM.
LEE: LET'S SAY, CARL, THAT YOU SUCCEED, WHAT IS YOUR VISION FOR THE COMPANY AS A GOING CONCERN BECAUSE PART OF YOUR PRESS RELEASE SAID SPECIFICALLY THAT IF YOU RUN OFF THE ASSETS WHICH ARE CASH GENERATING ASSETS, THEYCOULD BE WORTH 80 CENTS TO 85 CENTS ON THE DOLLAR. DOES THAT PLAN IMPLY THAT YOU WILL ACTUALLY RUN OFF THESE ASSETS, SELL THEM?
ICAHN: WELL, IF, I'M NOT HERE TO SAY WE'RE GOING TO GET CONTROL OF IT.WE WANT TO SEE IT GO INTO TRADITIONAL BANKRUPTCY, RUN OFF MOST OF THE ASSETS. INTERESTINGLY, THE COMPANY THINKS THEY SHOULD BE RUN OFF, TOO, BUT IN THEIR PLAN THERE'S NO RESTRICTIONS ON THEM DOING IT, SO YOU RUN OFF A LOT OF THESE ASSETS, MELISSA.AS YOU RUN THEM OFF, I BELIEVE YOU WILL GET THAT. ALSO, I'M NOT AGAINST TRYING TO SEE, AND THEY HAVE CERTAIN PLATFORMS TO DO FACTORING, I'M NOT AGAINST TRYING TO SEE IF THAT WORKS BUT I DON'T LIKE SPENDING WHAT THE COMPANY WOULD HAVE YOU DO, SPENDING BILLIONS OF DOLLARS WAITING TO SEE IF THE GOVERNMENT IS GOING TO GIVE YOU BACK YOUR BANK CHARTER AND THAT'S WHAT I'M AGAINST, JUST WASTING $2 BILLIONOR $3 BILLION. THE LITTLE BONDHOLDER, THE LITTLE BONDHOLDER NOW HAS AN ABILITY, AND WE HOPE THEY WILL CALL US, AND HAS THE ABILITY TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE SITUATION AND WE HOPE THAT THEY DO IT.
LEE: CARL, I HAVE READ THROUGH YOUR PRESS RELEASE.IN IT YOU ALSO POINTED OUT YOU WILL BE ASSISTING FINANCIAL ADVISERS WHO ASSIST IN CASTING THE VOTE IN YOUR FAVOR BY PAYINGTHEM $5.ACCORDING TO SOME PEOPLE I HAVE TALKED TO, THEY ARE SAYING THAT THAT'S AKIN TO BUYING VOTES. IS THAT TRUE?
ICAHN: NO, I DON'T THINK IT'S AKIN TO BUYING VOTES --
LEE: YOU'RE OFFERING THEM MONEY TO HELP.
ICAHN: WE'RE SAYING IF THE BROKER IS HELPING AND DOING IT AND THAT HAPPENS VERY OFTEN IN TENDER OFFERS, THE BROKER GETS A FEE. YOU KNOW, IT'S A BIT OF A RUSH THING, AS YOU SAID.
LEE: RIGHT.
ICAHN: AND WE JUST HOPE THAT WE CAN GET ENOUGH NUMEROSITY TO STOP THIS -- WHAT I CONSIDER TO BE A REPREHENSIBLE APPROACH BY THE COMPANY.THEY'RE PAYING A FORTUNE TO --
LEE: SURE.
ICAHN: THEY'RE PAYING A FORTUNE TO ADVISORS WHAT HAVE YOU SO WE HOPE YOU CALL AND THE NUMBERS TO CALL IF PEOPLE NEED ADVICE WOULD BE CALL VINCENT AT 212-702-4328.
LEE: THIS IS NOT A PUBLIC SERVICE --
ICAHN: I WANT TO GET MY LITTLE ADVERTISING IN. COME ON --
LEE: I GET THE DEAL, CARL. GOT TO ASK YOU ONE LAST QUESTION. YOU RESIGNED FROM THE YAHOO! BOARD LAST WEEK. ARE YOU IMPLYING THAT PERHAPS YAHOO!'S STOCK AT THIS POINT IS FULLY VALUED?
ICAHN: NO, I'M NOT SAYING THAT AT ALL.WE DON'T DISCUSS WHAT WE DO AT A PORTFOLIO.I THINK THE DEAL WITH MICROSOFT WAS A GREAT DEAL. I DON'T TALK ABOUT SHORT-TERM MOVES AND I DON'T THINK ANYBODY IS SMART ENOUGH TO TALK ABOUT THAT, BUT I DO THINK WE HAVE A GREAT CEO IN CAROL BARTZ. I THINK THAT YOU DON'T NEED AN ACTIVIST IN THERE ANYMORE. SHE'S TAKEN OVER IT.THE MICROSOFT DEAL IS A GREAT DEAL. BUT IM NOT GOING TO TALK ABOUT SHORT TERM.
LEE: ALWAYS A PLEASURE TO TALK TO YOU.
ICAHN: THANKS, MELISSA.
LEE: DON'T GO ANYWHERE, WE WILL TRADE CARL ICAHN'S COMMENTS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THIS BREAK.About CNBC:CNBC is the recognized world leader in business news, providing real-time financial market coverage and business information to more than 340 million homes worldwide, including more than 95 million households in the United States and Canada. The network's Business Day programming (weekdays from 5:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m. ET) is produced at CNBC's headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., and also includes reports from CNBC news bureaus worldwide. Additionally, CNBC viewers can manage their individual investment portfolios and gain additional in-depth information from on-air reports by accessing http://www.cnbc.com.Members of the media can receive more information about CNBC and its programming on the NBC Universal Media Village Web site at http://nbcumv.com/cnbc/.
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f02314bffb40bdd9cd6f1e3f3e4a5fc1 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/27/former-ml-exec-is-named-head-of-ubs-unit.html | Former ML Exec Is Named Head of UBS Unit | Former ML Exec Is Named Head of UBS Unit
Robert McCann, the former head of Merrill Lynch's brokerage unit, was named the head of UBS's private client group.
UBSSharon Lorimer
McCann has been telling associates that the job is his and that he is looking to woo brokers from his old firm to UBS, these people say. His appointment is expected to ignite a war over talent between McCann and Sallie Krawcheck, who heads the Merrill brokerage department, now part of Bank of America.
"Under Bob's leadership, I believe that the business will now consolidate its position as the firm of choice for those clients seeking a fully integrated offering of diverse products and tailored advisory services," said Oswald Gruebel, Chief Executive of UBS Group.
McCann's appointment ends weeks of speculation over who would run the brokerage department of UBS, once known as PaineWebber.
Top Buyers of Failed BanksBank Failures by State
The UBS brokerage group has been among the worst performing brokerage businesses on Wall Street. Senior management at UBS including CEO Oswald Gruebel is banking that McCann can reverse the slide.
UBS Wealth Management Americas saw net new money outflows of 5.8 billion Swiss francs ($5.77 billion) in the second quarter, compared with the first-quarter's net new money inflows of 16.2 billion francs.
The bank has been hurt by a tax row with the U.S. government, which was settled in August. It has also been hit by executive departures, bad bets on auction rate securities and write-downs, and other regulatory setbacks.
— Reuters contributed to this report
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0d5b11607f6d1f49cadc3daa2af53d10 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/27/is-america-ready-for-a-new-power-trip.html | Is America Ready For a New 'Power Trip?' | Is America Ready For a New 'Power Trip?'
Today's Guest Blog comes from Amanda Little author ofPower Trip: From Oil Wells to Solar Cells—Our Ride to the Renewable Futurewho hopes her new approach and writing style can invigorate new interest in America's energy future.
Most books about energy should be classified, along with Valerian and Excedrin PM, as over-the-counter sleeping aids.
If they’re not wonky or technical, they’re gloomy and depressing.
That may help explain why so many Americans are asleep at the wheel as we barrel toward a radical and imminent shift in our energy landscape – toward the U-turn leading to our post-petroleum future.
In the interest of rounding that turn with our eyes open, I’ve tried to come up with a non-drowsy version of the story – a wonk-free, big-picture, solutions-oriented story that maps out America’s energy past, present and future in simple terms and full color.
It wasn’t hard to do.
Guest Author Blog
Nothing – nothing – has had a greater impact on American culture, ecology, commerce, and politics than our epic and troubled love affair with fossil fuels. This is, without exaggeration, the most important story of our time. Far from tedious, it’s the stuff of soap operas (remember “Dallas”?). It’s a tale of scheming villains and inspired inventors; of wars lost and won; of political corruption and cultural coups; of technological barriers and breakthroughs; of barren lands and bumper crops; of ecological peril and preservation. It’s a quintessentially American story–one of luxury, greed, ambition, innovation, and white-knuckle progress.
It’s also for me a personal story.
I’ve covered the environment beat for more than a decade—in particular, tracking, questioning, and often criticizing the oil and energy industries– only to have arrived at the shocking (however obvious) realization that I, too, have been and continue to be a passionate lover of petroleum, coal and natural gas—an enthusiastic consumer of gasoline, airplane rides, email, recorded music, glossy magazines, synthetic fabrics, FedEx, fast food, and so on.
I began to see that I had no real understanding of the magnitude of our nation’s addiction to fossil fuels, and my own participation in it — that I was guilty of the same, peculiarly American mix of willful ignorance, arrogance and relentless optimism that I’d been blaming others for. The only way to really understand our energy crisis, I realized, was to travel into the heart of it.
The Carbon Challenge - A CNBC Special Report - See Complete Coverage
I set out on a cross-country power trip to explore strange and surprising frontiers of America’s energy landscape, venturing from an ultra-deep Gulf of Mexico oil rig to the cornfields of Kansas, from the Pentagon’s fuel-logistics division to the Talladega Superspeedway, from the operating room of a silicone breast implant into my home kitchen, from New York City’s electrical grid to laboratories creating the innovations of the clean-energy future.
Along the way, I discovered just how oil permeates our daily lives—from the shine on glossy magazine covers to life-saving pharmaceuticals to the food we eat.
Energy, I came to realize, is everything. It grows our crops, fights our wars, makes our plastic and medicines, warms our homes, moves our products and vehicles, and animates our cities.
I moved on to the logical next question — how did we develop this insatiable appetite for fossil fuels?
We can’t innovate our way out of this problem until we understand how it came to be.
California Utility Wants to Buy More Solar Power
I took a tour through history to pinpoint pivotal moments in America’s energy addiction: the meeting in J.P. Morgan’s office in 1897 when Thomas Edison switched on the world’s first power plant, the Spindletop gusher in 1901 that threw open the era of cheap American oil, FDR's encounter with a Saudi king that set the stage for our dependence on Middle Eastern oil, General Motors’ decision (dating back to the 1950s) to sell big, tricked-out gas guzzlers rather than small, efficient cars. What I discovered was that oil and coal built the American superpower - even as they posed political and environmental dangers to the nation and the world.
History, I realized, teaches us that we can solve our energy crisis — that the same American ingenuity that got us into this mess will get us out of it.
________________________
Amanda LittlePhoto: Heidi Ross
Amanda Little is the author of Power Trip and has published widely on the environment, energy and technology for more than a decade.
She wrote “Muckracker,” a long-running syndicated weekly column on Salon.com and Grist.org, and “Code Green,” a monthly column on green innovations for Outside magazine, where she was a contributing editor.
Her work has appeared in the New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, Wired, New York, Men’s Journal and the Washington Post.
She is the recipient of the Jane Bagley Lehman Award for excellence in environmental journalism. Amanda Little lives with her husband and daughter in Nashville, Tennessee.
For more on Amanda Little and POWER TRIP, visit: http://www.amandalittle.com/
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e4fd4dbdc3f778ff21d78878d2bde494 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/27/kneale-the-businessweek-sale-a-harsher-truth.html | Kneale: The BusinessWeek Sale ... A Harsher Truth | Kneale: The BusinessWeek Sale ... A Harsher Truth
Who are these Bloomberg guys?
The move by Bloomberg LP to buy out the red-ink-stained wretches and assets of BusinessWeek reveals some painful truths about the ailing print media industry its future. If it has one.
At first glance the deal seems ideal: a magazine buffeted by the online revolution gets rescued
BusinessWeekCNBC.com
by a newer media titan that trades in digital bits rather than in printed words on a page. Content, not distribution, is king.
The harsher truth: The main reason Bloomberg could afford to buy McGraw Hill's BusinessWeek , at all, is because Bloomberg isn’t truly a media company. Its media pursuits amount to a loss leader that will rack up $150 million in red ink this year, by some estimates. This “investment” is offset by the privately held company’s core business: leasing data-analytics terminals to fat Wall Street firms.
That’s troubling at a time when some voices call for a philanthropic, non-profit model for the print media, a la the St. Petersburg Times. It’s a terrible idea, ignorant of the fact that print pubs in good times have handsome pre-tax profit margins of five or six times the level in, say, high-tech. If newspapers and magazines can’t survive on the profit model, they’re doing something wrong.
Which leads to a second harsher truth: The problems at BusinessWeek, expected to lose $40 million this year, and across the print media world were intensified by online upheaval. But the troubles are as much a consequence of moves and miscues by the ailing players themselves.
Newspapers and magazines, beleaguered by decades of declining readership, took few daring risks to appeal to new customers. Their newsrooms bitterly resisted any attempt to cut expenses, depicting it as a sin rather than the necessity it really was. And most of them greeted the rise of the Internet with fear and defensiveness rather than embrace it as a compelling opportunity for new ideas and new growth.
I saw this first-hand, from posts at The Wall Street Journal and Forbes over the past two-plus decades. Both titles plunged headlong into online journalism and are better off for it.
The print media can survive and thrive if companies will surrender to the Web and restructure and jump on new opportunities online. We always underestimate how long an old platform can withstand a new challenge, and we overestimate how quickly the latest tech will overtake incumbents. A Kindle-like tablet could be their savior ultimately, and in the meantime print remains a highly profitable business once expenses are cut to fit the revenue stream.
But survival requires getting some real attitude.
Afraid of losing the 50 million readers they have left, too many newspapers cling to the modus operandi of the past. Same for magazines. In the blindingly fast Internet Age, BusinessWeek peddled a weekly summary that was . . . boring. Safe. Assiduously objective rather than provocatively opinionated. The magazine took pride in this sense of remove, this lack of passion.
Time Warner’s Fortune is splashier and poses as the People of business. Family-owned Forbes, where I was managing editor until joining CNBC two years ago this month, is fearless and ferocious in its promotion and protection of capitalism and wealth creation. Both titles face new rounds of cuts, too, but at least they aren’t up for sale. Yet.
BusinessWeek’s disinterested bent fits well at Bloomberg, one of the first online news companies when former Merrill Lynch trader Michael Bloomberg formed it in the early 1980s. At Bloomberg, reporters are all but banned from writing with too much, um, feeling. Words like “but” and “however,” used to build and depict conflict, are excised, as are adjectives that could be deemed as being opinionated.
What are these guys thinking? Bloomberg has built a world-class org of 2,200 journos, packing in legions of laid-off defectors from The Journal, but they fail to realize that nobody really wants to read anything, ever. Ya gotta get ’em in the tent, grab ’em by the shirt collar and wake ’em up. You do that by pushing a provocative point of view and wrapping news coverage around it.
Readers no longer expect flat, passionless objectivity, if they ever believed it to begin with. They expect a publication or writer to prosecute a case, and then the reader can decide whether the argument holds. Hewing strictly to neutral, and neutered, observations, as BusinessWeek does, won’t work in the online sizzle of constant news updates, colliding opinions and abundant bad-ass attitude.
The Bloomberg acquisition could provide a clear test of whether the journalism of old—we called it “DBI” for “dull but important” when I worked at The Wall Street Journal 20 years ago—can sell in the Netstream of today. Or it might not be a test at all. Given Bloomberg’s richer business renting data terminals to trading firms, maybe the company doesn’t care whether its soon-to-be-acquired property ever turns a profit.
More Kneale ...
Shameless Schumer and Feinberging Corp. AmericaLet's Skin Ken, We'll All Feel BetterObama Gets Nobel Prize...For Not Being BushObama, IBM and How to Kill Silicon ValleyHey Feds, Leave Bloggers AloneKraft, Cadbury and Class WarfareFour Lessons From LettermanWhy Apple is the World's Best RetailerMichael Moore Should MoveSave ObamaCare ... By Killing It
Follow Kneale at twitter.com/denniskneale
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21324505078826a039d662f96a7822f8 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/27/lenny-dykstra-i-live-in-the-street.html | Lenny Dykstra: 'I Live In The Street' | Lenny Dykstra: 'I Live In The Street'
Lenny Dykstra's bankruptcy case has been converted from a Chapter 11 reorganization to a Chapter 7 liquidation. Judge Geraldine Mund said bluntly, "Right now it looks like everything is under water."
Slideshow: Fallen Stars: Celebrity Foreclosures
AP
Dykstra is no longer in charge of his own estate.
The judge earlier appointed a Trustee to handle the Chapter 11, and it's very likely that same person will continue to oversee the liquidation. One of Dykstra's two homes inside Sherwood Country Club is already listed for sale, and Fireman's Fund has already provided $500,000 to clean up a mold problem there. The second house, the larger mansion Dykstra bought from Wayne Gretzky in 2007 for $17.5 million, is still in a state of disrepair after Dykstra removed portions of flooring and fixtures to try to prove water damage.
Attorney Leonard Shulman, speaking on behalf of the estate, said, "This is a very sophisticated and complex case with quite a bit of litigation that can, and should, be pursued." He said his office is working with Fireman's Fund to settle for "just north of $1 million" to cover damage to both homes and to drop claims of bad faith against the insurer. Dykstra says that leaves only about $500,000 to repair the larger house, which "won't even pay my experts to get started" on repairs.
Lenny Dykstra Strikes OutLenny's Interview With CNBC
However, any settlement money will go to the estate, not to Lenny Dykstra. The former World Series champion vented in court that the estate's lawyers weren't looking after his interests. "I just heard everyone talk about everyone else. But what about Lenny?" Judge Mund advised Dykstra to get his own attorney. "Estate attorneys are not you." She appeared to grow impatient as the hearing dragged on, as she was facing a full docket for the day, including an update on the bankruptcy of actor Robert Blake, who went broke defending himself against murder charges. Only in LA...
Meantime, Index Investors, which moved to foreclose on Dykstra's house last summer because it claims he owes $900,000, says the home Dykstra bought for $17.5 million in 2007 is now valued at $11.5 million. "I don't have a lot of confidence funds will be generated from the estate," said Index attorney Bruce Speiser.
CNBC's Sports Biz Blog - Yankees Will At Least Break Even This Year
Finally, Dykstra complained in court that his estranged wife has plenty of money (including his pension) while he has nothing. "I live in the street," Dykstra said. "I don't want anything special. My wife gets $25,000 a month, and she's got $300,000 cash. You know what I got? Zero...I couldn't even buy gas for my car."
Later, outside court, a CNBC producer asked Dykstra if he was truly living on the street. He replied with a smile, "No. I can live anywhere I want."
The next hearing in the case is set for December.
Questions? Comments? Funny Stories? Email
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21647a2d26c7f50e8759f5179d28c78d | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/27/lightning-round-bank-of-america-qualcomm-wendys-and-more.html | Bank of America : BAC is a buy, Cramer said.
Qualcomm : Cramer is bullish on QCOM.
Cramer's 5 Breakout Bank Stocks
Citigroup : Citi works as a speculative play, Cramer said. He recommended the stock at $4.10.
Wendy’s/Arby’s Group : Cramer likes WEN.
Innophos : Cramer likes IPHS and its 3.2% dividend yield. He endorsed Olin and it’s 5% dividend yield, too.
VIDEO0:0000:00Lightning Round
QLogic : Cramer is bullish on QLGC, as well as NetApp and EMC in this space.
Amgen : Don’t buy, Cramer said. Go with Gilead Sciences instead.
Fuqi International : Cramer said he needed to do more research on FUQI before making a call on the stock.
Activision Blizzzard : Stay away from ATVI, Cramer said. He doesn’t like the video-game business right now.
Smart Balance : Buy Smart Balance, Cramer said.
Leap Wireless :Verizon is a better stock, Cramer said. He endorsed Windstream as well.
SAIC : There are better defense companies to own, Cramer said. He’d rather see investors in FLIR Systems , ArcSight and NICE Systems .
Syniverse Holdings : Cramer is bullish on SVR.
Cramer's charitable trust owns Bank of America, Gilead Sciences and Qualcomm.
Call Cramer: 1-800-743-CNBC
Questions for Cramer?
Questions, comments, suggestions for the Mad Money website? madcap@cnbc.com
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6a45da98e8bb6f68365df2301bd9bb6c | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/27/lightning-round-ot-boeing-dominion-resources-and-more.html | DTE Energy : Take profits, Cramer said. DTE has run too much. Go with Dominion Resources instead.
Cramer's 5 Breakout Bank Stocks
Terra Nitrogen : Cramer likes TNH and its 8.3% dividend yield.
Boeing : Boeing is a buy, Cramer said, in anticipation of the release of the 787 Dreamliner. Investors should start a position at this level, where the stock yields 3.5%, and add on at each quarter percent rise in the share price.
Call Cramer: 1-800-743-CNBC
Questions for Cramer?
Questions, comments, suggestions for the Mad Money website? madcap@cnbc.com
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51fa98c2892904dcd70d1bd694299b58 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/27/mortgage-bankers-cant-afford-their-own-home.html | Mortgage Bankers Can't Afford Their Own Home | Mortgage Bankers Can't Afford Their Own Home
Call it a sign of the times.
It's not exactly a great time to put a large piece of commercial real estate on the market, like a big ol' building in downtown Washington, DC, but apparently the Mortgage Bankers Association didn't have a choice.
They moved into their $76 million building just over a year ago at 1331 L St. NW, but in a letter to members this morning, the board wrote the sale would be "in the best interest" of the association.
It adds that they will lease "a substantial portion of the building" so as to keep it as their headquarters through 2010.
And a bit more from CEO John Courson:
Since the purchase in May 2008, the U.S. economy has suffered one of the most severe recessions in a century, and the residential and commercial real estate markets have materially deteriorated. These factors, coupled with a challenging leasing environment, led the MBA Board to conclude that continued ownership of 1331 L Street was economically imprudent, and over the long term would impair MBA's ability to continue providing our members with MBA's full range of services.
By the way, commercial office building prices in DC are down 27 percent from their peak in 2008, that according to Real Estate Econometrics. The mortgage bankers want to make sure you know the association is current on all debt payments.
Questions? Comments? RealtyCheck@cnbc.com
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6a3574e39cdd1c3c41f0aa79c9b9bc2d | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/27/oil-prices-to-rise-further-trade-to-be-volatile-petrobras-ceo.html | Oil Prices to Rise Further; Trade to be Volatile: Petrobras CEO | Oil Prices to Rise Further; Trade to be Volatile: Petrobras CEO
The oil market is expected to continue its upward trend, but trading will be volatile, CEO of Brazilian oil giant Petrobras, Jose Sergio Gabrielli de Azevedo, told CNBC.
"What we see right now is the price is the average that we thought it would be; I think we will continue to lead with continued volatility in the price of oil but at higher levels than before," Azevedo said.
VIDEO4:1304:13Petrobras CEO: Oil Prices to Remain Volatile
While he does not expect prices to hit the peak reached in 2008, he believes the market will be supported by robust demand.
"By 2030 we will need between 65 and 70 million barrels of additional production to keep that demand, and to keep that current production requires you add new barrels in very large amounts from now to 2030," he said.
The state-controlled oil producer, sold $4 billion of 10- and 30- year bonds last week to repay a bridge loan. The company tapped international credit markets for the third time this year as a recovery in Latin America’s biggest economy has boosted demand for the securities.
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2fcaa6ad1e5e59394d701b6bde683555 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/27/porn-flounders-but-adult-novelty-business-booms.html | Porn Flounders, But Adult Novelty Business Booms | Porn Flounders, But Adult Novelty Business Booms
Contrary to popular belief, the adult entertainment industry is hardly recession-proof – particularly in the digital age.
Porn films are still being produced at a breakneck pace, but rampant piracy online has cut into the bottom line of many production companies. While film is faltering, however, adult novelties are in the midst of a renaissance.
Despite high unemployment rates and shoestring household budgets, America continues to find money in its pocket for sex toys.
“Generally, a recession means people stay at home more,” says Richard Longhurst, co-founder and co-owner of LoveHoney. “If you’re in a relationship, you need to spend more time with your partner and this often leads to wanting to rekindle or enhance a sexual relationship.”
While they were considered taboo for years, sex toys burst onto the mainstream scene on Aug. 2, 1998. That’s the night a “Sex & The City” episode immortalized “the rabbit” creating a rush of demand for the device and making it more acceptable for people to shop for sex toys.
While the current business surge among sex toys isn’t quite that strong, it’s notable. Babeland, a chain of sex toy stores across the country, says sales were up 10 percent in the first half of the year. Representatives at Hustler Hollywood, one of Los Angeles’ most high profile adult stores, said they have seen a significant increase in business as well, though declined to give numbers.
“What we’ve found across the industry is that while the traditional old ‘dirty book store’ seems to not be doing so well, the ones that cater to couples and females are doing quite well,” says Keith Caggiano of Bushman Products.
Some adult toy makers are doing even better. Lelo, a high-end designer and manufacturer of adult novelties, has seen its business double every month this year, while LoveHoney (which is both a retailer and manufacturer) reports a 30 percent year-to-date increase in sales.
“In a recession, people are seeing that sex is a way to not spend a lot of money,” says Claire Cavanah, co-founder of Babeland. “If you buy a sex toy for $150, that’s going to buy you a lot more entertainment in the long run than a dinner or show.”
That $150 price tag might surprise some people. While certainly there are hundreds, probably thousands of toys that cost significantly less, the best sellers in the current economy are high end items.
At Babeland, the five top toys range from $108 to $185.
Consumers, say manufacturers and retailers, are willing to pay more for a few reasons. Some feel the high end products are more effective than their cut-rate counterparts. Others buy into the high-end marketing. But a large percentage are willing to pay more – considerably more – for a product that will stand the test of time.
“I think that’s where the industry is going - into better design, more solid state and less novelty,” says Cavanah. “When we stared a few year ago, it was hard to find a vibrator that was going to last, because the manufacturers didn’t have to make them solid state. People were so ashamed to buy them in the first place, that [the toy] could break and no one would complain. Now that sex toys are going mainstream, the consumer expects a certain level of quality from manufacturers and they’re getting it.”
Those same manufacturers are learning a lesson from traditional retailers and making their products more aesthetically pleasing. Just as Target offers a coffeemaker designed by Michael Graves, many of today’s sex toys have a form factor that’s different than many people expect.
That’s particularly true at Lelo, which puts an increased focus on design. The company’s devices, which are rechargeable and offer warranties of up to 10 years, are so atypical looking that they’re carried in select mainstream stores, including Spencer’s, the Wynn hotel and an OEM product at Barney’s.
“We’re getting more and more inquiries on a regular basis,” says Donna Faro, Lelo’s U.S. sales manager. “The biggest interest in mainstream accounts is in the ladies lingerie high-end boutiques. We’re getting extremely high exposure in that market.”
While design is helping increase interest in sex toys, the general public is also always hungry for new trends.
LoveHoney discovered this when it unveiled its latest creation – the Sqweel. The $60 device was unique enough to garner stories and reviews by leading Internet tech sites (such as Engadget) and consumers raced to buy it.
LoveHoney sold out of its original shipment of 2,000 in two days.
Dirty Money: The Business of High-End Prostitution
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f733e790a5a40e9d58d036c9d498a501 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/27/retail-review.html | Two weeks ago, Cramer urged viewers to buy Deckers Outdoor but sell Under Armour, even though the both stocks’ charts looked bullish. Well, the earnings results are in, and the Mad Money host was right.
Cramer's 5 Breakout Bank Stocks
Deckers is up 15% from Cramer’s recommendation, when it traded at $84.55, thanks to an upside surprise. The company beat the Street’s estimates by 34 cents a share and guided higher for the fourth quarter. Management was very positive on the conference call, and Cramer said he thinks the stock “is still a great story.”
VIDEO0:0000:00Gov. Rendell & Retail
Under Armour reported an “exceptional” quarter on Tuesday, besting the analysts’ predictions by 8 cents a share. But it was a dismal outlook for the fourth quarter that took the stock down 12% today: Management said sales would drop to $201 million from $270 million in Q3. Apparently, a glut of inventory is forcing Under Armour to discount merchandise, and that will hurt revenues. So investors should avoid UA.
Lastly, Cramer revisited a stock that stumped him during the Oct. 16 Lightning Round, Neutral Tandem . The company allows phone companies to more efficiently and cost effectively send traffic to other carriers, and it’s “a cash machine.” Investors’ fears about competition pulled the stock down 30% since the Aug. 6 earnings report, but Cramer said TNDM’s rivals lack the scale necessary to be a threat. So with the stock trading at 12 times 2011 earnings and its 23% long-term growth rate, Neutral Tandem is “a steal.”
Want an update on the potential of natural gas in the US? Watch Cramer’s take on the issue in this video.
Call Cramer: 1-800-743-CNBC
Questions for Cramer?
Questions, comments, suggestions for the Mad Money website? madcap@cnbc.com
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50211d162db8238205ae6cea827d88c4 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/27/see-the-world-save-on-health-care.html | See The World, Save On Health Care | See The World, Save On Health Care
Imagine you could save more than 50 percent on a major medical procedure without risking safety and, at the same time, get a free trip to an exotic locale.
stem cell
That's the business model behind medical tourism, which matches American patients looking to save money with foreign doctors and hospitals qualified to do the work.
Individual patients seeking healthcare solutions beyond our borders is nothing new.
What is new is that Corporate America, facing rising medical costs, is considering sending employees overseas, and paying the bill.
CNBC Special Report: The Globalization of Health Care
This week on Street Signs I'm following the story of Annie Bujakowski, a life long skier whose knee went out more than a decade ago. Four surgeries later, she still has trouble walking. Skiing is out of the question. Annie and her husband, Mark, work for Snow Summit Ski Corporation in Big Bear Lake, California, where her mother, Jan Evans, is head of risk management. Evans spends much of her time seeking ways to save money on the company's healthcare plan. With the help of Wells Fargo , she discovered PlanetHospital, a company started by Rudy Rupak in 2002 after his wife fell ill while they were overseas. Rupak was so impressed with the quality of care they received--at a pittance compared to the cost in the U.S.— and so a business was born. PlanetHospital is one of a handful of companies which act as a concierge between companies or patients and foreign doctors and hospitals. For example, in Singapore, where quality of care is ranked far higher by the World Health Organization than care in the U.S., heart bypass surgery can cost $18,500, compared to $130,000 stateside.
Senate Health-Care Bill to Include Public Option: Reid
Here's Rupak discussing what started PlanetHospital.
VIDEO0:0000:00Rupak's Start
Rupak has sent 3,000 patients overseas.
He's traveled the world finding the best places for certain procedures: heart operations in Cyprus, knee and hip replacements in Singapore, cancer treatments in South Korea, dental work in Costa Rica, plastic surgery in Panama. In Singapore, where Annie was set to have her knee replacement done, Kamaljeet Singh Gill of Parkway Health says, "In 2007, 400,000 foreign patients came to Singapore seeking medical treatment." The hospital has been compared to being in a four-star hotel, complete with a choice of gourmet menus. Annie Bujakowski said that, for once, "hospital food was good."
Here's Rupak discussing the biggest obstacles in selling the idea of medical tourism to Corporate America.
VIDEO0:0000:00Rupak on Selling the Idea
Why does it cost so much much less overseas?
Mostly because of very low malpractice insurance rates. There are fewer lawsuits, but that also means there are fewer legal protections. Planet Hospital provides an extra catastrophic policy in case an overseas operation goes very wrong, but the policy has a fairly low limit by American standards. Still, he says it is extremely rare for a follow up operation to be necessary, far rarer than the norm in the U.S.
Yet Rupak explains here that U.S. insurance companies are reluctant to sign on:
VIDEO0:0000:00Rupak on Insurance Companies
Medical tourism is already having on impact on the cost of care in America.
Rupak says one patient took the estimated costs of having a procedure done overseas to his doctor and asked the doctor to match it. He did. Some hospitals in states like Texas are reaching out to companies in California, offering procedures for less, even with air fare and hotel bills thrown in. For the moment, Snow Summit says the overseas option is voluntary, but Jan Evans says there could come a day when it may become mandatory for employees if they want Snow Summit to foot the entire bill. "The world is global in its economy." says Evans. "And this is the globalization of medicine."
Annie Bujakowski's reaction to being told about the overseas option? "What? I get to go to Singapore AND get my knee fixed? YEAH!" She also received a $3,000 cash bonus for being the company's first guinea pig. Follow our stories this week as we find out how her surgery went. Not everything went according to plan.
Stay tuned...
Questions? Comments? Funny Stories? Email
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94445359284ac2ea8ffd7d2f82cef70c | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/27/sokol-to-cnbc-last-18-months-may-be-buffetts-most-successful-period-ever.html | Buffett Watch | Buffett Watch
The man who's widely seen as most likely to succeed Warren Buffett as Berkshire Hathaway's CEO continues to deflect that speculation.
In a live interview Monday on CNBC's Squawk Box, David Sokol told us:
"I think history will show that the last 18 months may have been Warren Buffett's most successful period. Some of the decisions and investments that Berkshire has been able to make are real reflections of his discipline and being ready when the opportunity comes toward you... He's going a great job. And frankly, he seems in better health today than he did 10 years ago when I first met him."
Sokol, who is currently Chairman of MidAmerican Energy Holdings and newly named CEO of NetJets (both Berkshire subsidiaries) expresses confidence that the Berkshire board is taking succession planning very seriously, although he's not involved in the process.
He also says, as he's done in past interviews with us, that there are "two to three dozen world-class CEOs" among Berkshire's 240,000 employees. "I'd be thrilled to work with, or for, any of them."
Here's the complete interview:
VIDEO0:0000:00Sokol on Economic Trends
Current Berkshire stock prices:
Class A:
Class B:
For more Buffett Watch updates .
Email comments to buffettwatch@cnbc.com
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b1c493680dcd5bc4f89bcda0b3b49ca9 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/27/still-bullish-on-this-big-financial-banking-analyst.html | Still Bullish on This Big Financial: Banking Analyst | Still Bullish on This Big Financial: Banking Analyst
Banking analyst Stuart Plesser at Standard & Poor’s says he is still betting on Bank of America, even though the firm’s shares have lost 10 percent of their value in the past week. He explained his outlook for the company.
VIDEO0:0000:00Bullish on B of A
“Bank of America certainly has its risks compared to some of the other large banks, but at the current price levels, it has a tangible book value of $12,” Plesser told CNBC.
“There are some positives—in the third quarter, the sequential charge-offs were up, but at a lower rate than the second quarter. So credit is bad, but improving.”
Plesser has a “strong buy”recommendation on BofA and has a 12-month target price of $22. He also said the company has enough funds to withstand any further losses.
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Dow 30 Stocks—In Real Time Oil, Gold, Natural Gas Prices Now Track Treasury Prices Here
“BofA has adequate capital right now to go on, without paying the TARP, and they will likely earn it and be able to pay it back though 2010,” he said.
“I don’t think they need to raise $45 billion [to repay the TARP] right now—they have about $150 billion in liquidity currently standing to go against future charge-offs, and to raise another $45 billion wouldn’t seem the right move by the management right now.”
More Market Intelligence:
What VIX Tells Investors Now: Market ProsCramer: Five Financials You Must WatchArt Cashin: Dollar Carry Trade Could Cause Big Pullback
“I would point to the provision line for Bank of America as the most important item. And when that stabilizes, one could certainly start to look at normalized earnings of Bank of America at current prices and see the kind of upside that this stock could have once they return to those levels.”
______________________________CNBC Slideshows:
Top Buyers of Failed US Banks
______________________________
______________________________Bank of America Competes With:
Citigroup
JPMorgan Chase
Wells Fargo
______________________________ Disclosures:
Plesser does not own shares of Bank of America.
______________________________
Disclaimer
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5d965e5a8685365478ed7b39dbb29118 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/27/time-to-reassess-your-homeowners-policy.html | Time to Reassess Your Homeowners Policy | Time to Reassess Your Homeowners Policy
Home prices have declined -- in some markets as much as half what a property might have sold for two years ago. So why haven't homeowners insurance bills fallen as well?
Insurance experts are quick to point out that insurance is not based on the market value of property, but on the cost of rebuilding the property after it is destroyed. That cost includes not only labor and materials to rebuild, but also the cost of demolition and the removal and disposal of things that can't be reused.
Insurance PoliciesiStock photos
"Market values are decreasing, but the cost to replace has gone up," says Elaine Baisden, vice president of national property for Travelers Insurance.
That said, homeowners insurance might not have to be as pricey as your insurance agent would like it to be. Consider these homeowners insurance basics, as well as some ways to trim its cost.
3 types of coverageGuaranteed replacement coverage, which insures payment of 100 percent of your repair or rebuilding costs without limits, is the holy grail of homeowners insurance. Your agent will likely recommend it, and so does most consumer advice. You may have to buy it if your mortgage lender requires it. And you may want it if you would replace your home -- should it be destroyed -- exactly the way it is now, and you can't afford any economic disruption. But this kind of insurance is very expensive.
Replacement cost coverage isn't quite as good or pricey, but it is the best some homeowners are able to buy because of their home's location or condition. And it is probably good enough for many people. In these policies, the maximum the insurer will pay if your home is destroyed is stated in the policy.
A cash-value policy will cover the cost of the house's replacement cost minus any depreciation or wear and tear. You can count on not getting enough money to completely rebuild with this type of policy.
_____________________________________More From Bankrate.com:
_____________________________________
Figure out replacement costIf you want or need replacement cost homeowners coverage, then you must insure for a minimum of 80 percent of the cost of replacement as determined by your insurer. This is an industry standard.
Travelers' Blaisden points to AccuCoverage.com as a good source for determining your home's replacement cost as calculated by your insurer. All insurance companies use software from AccuCoverage or a competitor to calculate replacement costs.
For $7.95 per property, you can fill out AccuCoverage's questionnaire on the size and amenities of your home. When you are finished, you'll get an analysis of the cost of rebuilding the exact property in your location. Compare it to what your insurer estimates to be your replacement cost. If it is more -- because you haven't reported improvements to your insurance company, for example -- you should do that. You don't want your insurer to find out about these improvements after a disaster and use your negligence as an excusive to avoid payment.
If the calculator says the replacement cost is less than your insurer calculates (or about the same), go back to your insurer and ask for a recount. "I challenge the replacement value every time I'm billed," says Jay Henry, an exclusive agent for Allstate in St. Louis Park, Minn.
Next: What coverage do you need?
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b8de1fd2c59be41a3ced908be1fdb1c6 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/27/uncorking-the-fine-wine-market.html | Uncorking the Fine Wine Market | Uncorking the Fine Wine Market
Investors looking for variation from stocks, bonds and currencies could try investing in good wine, which has provided good returns over long periods of time — but should beware of unprofessional advice in the area, analysts and experts told CNBC Tuesday.
Wine glass
"Wine has always been an important part of a rich man's portfolio," James Miles, founding director at Liv-Ex, the wine market's most prominent exchange, said.
It can be an attractive investment particularly because of its period-to-trade which is independent from mainstream financial markets. But not all fine wine is a safe investment, Jancis Robinson, Master of Wine and respected wine writer, warned CNBC.
"There are so many people who are relatively new to wine who are going around setting themselves up as experts on investment in wine and are spreading the complete myth that all fine wine is a safe investment. It's not," Robinson said.
"If wine's allowed to get much hotter than about 70 degrees Fahrenheit, that complex will cave," she added.
Wine investment does not often correlate with what is happening in the financial markets, Miles Davis, partner at Wine Asset Managers, told CNBC. "Long-term correlation numbers are actually extremely low," he added.
VIDEO9:2009:20Uncorking the Fine Wine Market
"Over the course of last year, the first four months after Lehman's collapse we lost over 17 percent of our asset value on our fund," Davis said. "In the following six months after that, we leveled out. The market gained equilibrium and since halfway through this year we've started on the turn again. We're probably about up six percent in the last couple of months."
Compelling Long-Term Trend
Wine Asset Managers' fine wine fund was up 4 percent month-on-month in August and the longer-term trends for wine investment are compelling: "It has produced consistently good returns over a twenty-year period," Miles said.
Ways to gain exposure vary, from investing with funds and wine merchants who often go through Liv-Ex, the wine market's most prominent exchange, to bidding at auctions that offer access to physical bottles of wine — but storage of wine is integral to maintain its value, experts say.
"Auctions tend to have things that you can't find in a store," Serena Sutcliffe from Sotheby's said.
A way to avoid the pitfalls of physically-owned bottles of wine is to invest in a fund, where the physical assets are held in professional bonded warehouses.
Davis suggests investors look to "proper asset managers" for guidance in the wine market. Super-returns are achievable following a correction, he added.
"The advantage of buying through a fund is that you're doing it with a professional. There's a high level of assurance that they're going to be buying it at the right price, and you're buying into economies of scale," Miles said.
According to vintners 2009 is expected to produce outstanding French wines. Favorable weather conditions have helped produce a bumper crop and good grapes.
"Demand is being very much driven from Asia, particularly Hong Kong and China at the moment," Davis said. "(Chateau) Lafite (Rothschild) has been the market leader this year. The Chinese demand for Lafite seems to be insatiable at the moment and prices of Lafite have risen between 30 and 60 percent this year, depending on vintage."
Red Bordeaux is the prominent wine to invest in as "production levels of Bordeaux far exceed other big labels," Davis added.
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f3c2c67376109566c592348c9ea00b70 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/27/warren-buffett-and-bill-gates-to-hold-master-class-in-cnbc-special.html | Buffett Watch | Buffett Watch
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett, right, and Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates participate in a Q & A session with students at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's College of Business Administration, in Lincoln, Neb., Friday, Sept. 30, 2005.(AP Photo/Nati Harnik)Nati Harnik
Warren Buffett and Bill Gates will be the 'Big Men on Campus' next month when they go to Columbia Business School to answer questions from the "next generation of business leaders" .. and CNBC's cameras will be there.
We've just announced that a one-hour special town hall event, Warren Buffett and Bill Gates: Keeping America Great, will air Thursday, November 12 at 9p and 12a ET. The program will be repeated on Sunday, November 15 at 10p ET.
Squawk Box co-anchor Becky Quick will be the moderator of the event, which will be taped earlier in the day. CNBC.com's Warren Buffett Watch will be inside the hall for real-time coverage as it all happens.
Buffett, of course, enrolled at Columbia Business School because his mentors, Benjamin Graham and David Dodd, taught there. He graduated in 1951.
Gates famously dropped out of Harvard's class of 1977.
It's the first time in years the two friends and online bridge partners will be back on campus for an appearance together, and the last one got rave reviews.
Their 2005 session with students at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln's College of Business Administration was turned into a PBS broadcast special and DVD. (Five stars on Amazon.com)
You can expect Buffett and Gates to be candid, informal, and very funny, with a substantial helping of their thoughts on the responsibilities we all have to make the world a better place.
Current Berkshire stock prices:
Class A:
Class B:
For more Buffett Watch updates .
Email comments to buffettwatch@cnbc.com
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0221872212b564f0af29315f6ee02ae1 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/27/why-ford-is-winning-with-reliability.html | Why Ford Is Winning With Reliability | Why Ford Is Winning With Reliability
The latest survey of people who have bought more than 1.4 million vehicles, is further proof of the gulf between Ford and its fellow Big 3 auto makers, GM and Chrysler. While Consumer Reports now lists Ford as being on par with Asian automakers, GM and Chrysler continue to struggle.
Just compare the Consumer Reports numbers:
Ford: 46 of 51 models (90%) have average or better then average quality.
GM: 21 of 48 models (44%) have average or better than average quality
Chrysler: 1 of 26 models (4%) has average or better than average quality.
Need further proof of the split in quality in Detroit?
Consumer Reports says only the Toyota Prius beat out the Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan for reliability among family sedans. By comparison, 1/3 of the Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep models have much worse than average quality.
Slideshow - Highlights From The 2009 Tokyo Auto Show
So how do you explain why Ford is building better cars with fewer complaints than GM and Chrysler?
* Stability
Ford
The stability at Ford played a huge part.
The workers at Ford clearly went through a trying year, but nothing compared to the folks at GM and Chrysler who pretty much knew they were headed for bankruptcy or worse.
That's not to say the folks at GM and Chrysler threw in the towel and stopped caring, but it doesn’t take a rocket science to figure out quality slips at companies in duress.
* Tweaking established platforms, not starting new
When you look at the Ford platforms and vehicle lines, they tend to be older ones the company has steadily improved in recent years. Take the Fusion. Not a lot has changed with the model line in terms of how the car is built, etc. So Ford has been able to concentrate on refining the process, not starting from scratch. When you look at GM and Chrysler, it's a different story. And there will be even more change as the companies transition into their new lives.
* Ford fit and finishes improving
It's taken some time, but Ford finally has a family of cars with the fit and finish to compete with the Asians. For years, Ford interiors looked cheap and felt cheap. Not anymore. Sit in the Lincoln MKS or Ford Flex and you'll see how much Ford has improved its interiors. There's still room for improvement, but it's clear Ford builds a better car and truck.
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Questions? Comments? BehindTheWheel@cnbc.com
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1e5aff363995279302afe3837942be63 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/28/a-bitter-and-expensive-dodgers-divorce.html | A Bitter and Expensive Dodgers Divorce | A Bitter and Expensive Dodgers Divorce
Former Dodgers CEO Jamie McCourt has filed for divorce from her husband of 30 years, Dodgers owner Frank McCourt.
Frank & Jamie McCourtGetty Images
In what promises to be a very bitter proceeding, Mrs. McCourt cites irreconcilable differences, and is seeking hundreds of thousands of dollars a month in spousal support.
Mrs. McCourt is requesting that she be reinstated as team CEO, a job her husband fired her from on October 21, just as the Dodgers were about to lose the National League Pennant race.
The court filing says the couple is worth more than $1.2 billion, with "an annual estimate cash flow of tens of millions of dollars." It estimates that the Los Angeles Dodgers are currently worth an estimated $800 million.
Who owns the team? He says he does, she says they both do, and claims he tricked her into signing away legal standing.
"Because Major League Baseball's rules require that only one person be designated as the 'controlling person' of a franchise, Respondent (Frank McCourt) was designated as the 'controlling person' of the Dodgers," her filing states.
"However, Petitioner (Jamie McCourt), as co-owner, always has been extremely active in operating the franchise, serving initially as Vice Chairman, then as President, and, most recently, as Chief Executive Officer."
Jamie McCourt says her firing was "part of a calculated plan to try to humiliate and ostracize" her, and that she later discovered her husband had "failed to pay a number of their living expenses since at least July 2009."
Mrs. McCourt is requesting that her husband be ordered to pay her $320,967 a month spousal support "net of tax", but only if she is reinstated as team CEO. If she is not given back her old job, she wants $487,634 a month.
Without this money, Jamie McCourt says she is unable to meet her monthly expenses, as well as pay attorneys to litigate "what unquestionably will be a complex and expensive matter." By contrast, she says her husband "has access to almost unlimited funds."
"Unless my employment with the Dodgers is reinstated as requested, I will be unemployed," Jamie McCourt states. "While I have access to several investment accounts, the monies in those accounts consist of funds we saved during our marriage."
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'I do not believe it is appropriate that I should be required to invade our savings to pay my living expenses and the costs of this divorce action while Frank receives (or has access to) millions of dollars in distributions perquisites and benefits from the various Dodger related entities and other companies."
Mrs. McCourt also wants privileges reinstated including private jet travel, five-star hotel accommodations, unlimited travel expenses, the right to use the Owners Suite at Dodger Stadium, and country club fees. Those privileges even include smaller items like "Payment of Blackberry monthly fees" and "Flowers in the office".
The McCourts own nine properties, and Mrs. McCourt is seeking to bar her husband from removing any furnishings or other items from those properties. She's seeking "exclusive temporary use, possession and control" of both Malibu homes, barring her husband from entering either residence without prior written agreement or order from the court.
The court filing says monthly expenses for both McCourts top $760,000. Jamie McCourt says her share of that is over $480,000. This includes half the cost of owning, insuring and maintaining all nine properties. But it also includes an estimated $3,700 in monthly medical bills, $33,000 spent a month on clothes and more than $11,000 on personal care.
Her attorneys are also asking the court to force her husband to pay their fees, which are expected to get into the millions. "It is almost a certainty that this litigation will require Petitioner to incur more than $2 million in attorneys' fees and costs, more than $500,000 in forensic accounting fees and more than $220,000 in appraisers and other expert fees."
Questions? Comments? Funny Stories? Email
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7bb08f58f5d518f7983acadd190dc76c | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/28/a-compromise-on-home-buyer-tax-credit.html | A Compromise on Home Buyer Tax Credit? | A Compromise on Home Buyer Tax Credit?
For all of you who emailed me last night asking, "What the h— is up with the tax credit extension???"
Home and Taxes
The answer is that there may have been a bit of a revolt among Democrats who didn't want the controversial measure attached to the Unemployment Insurance bill.
That said, sources are telling me that there may be a compromise among Senators Dodd and Lieberman and Senate Finance folks, like Baucus and his staff.
Here's how it would work, and again, this is just a source telling me this, not necessarily what will happen:
For first time homebuyers, the income level to qualify is $75,000/150,000 (indiv/joint) For step up buyers the income level to qualify is $125,000/250,000. For step up buyers, they must have been residing in their primary residence for 5 years. The credit is 10% of the sales price, with a maximum of $ 7,290. The credit runs from Dec. 1, 2009 to April 30, 2010. For legitimate sales contracts as of April 30, 2010 you have 60 days to close There is a waiver for military.
This is what I hear. Stay tuned. It could all change dramatically.
Questions? Comments? RealtyCheck@cnbc.com
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3dbb43b79fd19fb4d4cafbdf6ec1216d | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/28/amds-ruiz-gets-tripped-by-idle-chitchat.html | AMD's Ruiz Gets Tripped by Idle Chit-Chat | AMD's Ruiz Gets Tripped by Idle Chit-Chat
Hector Ruiz, CEO of AMD, delivers a speech during a ceremony marking the 10-years anniversary of AMD's, Advanced Micro Devices, Dresden-based operation in Dresden, Germany, Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2006. AMD, based in Sunnyvale, California, manufactures semiconductor products in Dresden, their biggest plant outside the US, for 10 years. (AP Photo/Matthias Rietschel)Matthias Rietschel
Before we go jumping to conclusions, the proverbial rush to judgment about former AMD Chairman and CEO Hector Ruiz and his role in the bizarre Galleon insider trading case, consider some of the facts as we know them.
I'm not interested in being an apologist for Ruiz, or anyone for that matter, but am interested in offering some perspective about the accusations flying about this morning.
Just about everyone has been chasing this story about who the unnamed AMD executive was in the US Attorney complaint that seemed to have a 90-degree angle right into the heart of some major news about to break about the company. The court papers cite conversations from defendant Danielle Chiesi that she got the information from an exec who'd been preaching about this deal for some time; that when the news broke, the executive told her it would shock the hell out of everybody. Sure sounded like Ruiz, but not until the Wall Street Journal nailed it down last night did his name become publicly — and widely — associated with the case. Whispers became shouts.
Top Washington Lawyer Takes on Rajaratnam Case
So what happened here?
Prosecutors reportedly said that the unnamed AMD executive didn't profit from these tips, so are they really tips? Was Ruiz, 63, privately blustering to friends and associates about the impending, $8 billion rescue deal with the Abu Dhabi government? Certainly careless, but illegal too? Maybe. Was Ruiz confiding in someone he thought was a friend, who then acted on her own to profit from the information? Was Ruiz used by Chiesi for information? Was there something untoward? The accusations and innuendo are flying this morning.
I have interviewed Ruiz a few times, followed his career, marveled at his determination as Mexican immigrant rising to the highest financial and intellectual echelons in this country. Has he always been an angel? Not likely. He's a hard-charging, shoot-from-the-hip, no-nonsense boss handpicked by former AMD Chairman and CEO Jerry Sanders who's gargantuan personality and style was in direct contrast to the tiny microprocessors responsible for his fame and fortune, Rolls Royce's and Bel Air estate. Sanders, and later Ruiz, could be described at once as street hoods or tough competitors trying to save their company and the marketplace from the "jack-booted thugs" at rival Intel (Sanders' words, not mine.)
But guilty of insider-trading? It just seems anathema to everything Ruiz has been about. Anything's possible, I suppose. Look at Raj Rajaratnam, Galleon's co-founder, who was worth more than $1 billion, but risked it all for piddly little $20 million deals allegedly dripping from insider trading. That doesn’t make much sense either.
American Greed - Some People Will Do Anything For Money
I have been a vocal critic of Ruiz's. I couldn't fathom how he lasted as long as he did at AMD, driving the company deeper and deeper into the red. The company's ATI acquisition was an abysmal failure that almost drove AMD into bankruptcy. His vocal, sometimes personal attacks against Intel were brutally consistent, sometimes un-refined, and ever-present. If he's caught up in some illegal insider trading case, his protestations of Intel's unethical and illegal behavior in the market place may start to ring a little hollow. It's unlikely this case will affect ongoing anti-trust investigations either in this country or in Europe or elsewhere, but when it comes to accusations, you have to consider the source, and this one is tainted. And this stuff, brought into the discourse, is disturbing. Something about glass houses and stones and such.
But all of that aside, until we know the real details as to why this information was shared, we can't rush to judgment.
I'm not sure what the relationship was between Ruiz and Chiesi. How they knew each other? What would possess him to share intimate details of an impending deal with her. No question he did something wrong. The question is whether it was merely unethical, or illegal. Degrees of black eyes, if you will. Something stinks here, but there may be mitigating circumstances to consider. Was he a scheming insider, and if so, without profiting from any of this, to what end? Or was he tricked, duped, which isn't much better, but maybe a little?
We need more details. And sadly for Ruiz, being outed as the unnamed AMD executive is not the end, only the beginning of this morass.
Scam of the Century - The Bernie Madoff Story
Questions? Comments? TechCheck@cnbc.com
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5f600cb8d05a097f5e009bde6960361a | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/28/cnbc-in-asia-pacific-appoints-vice-president-business-development-and-partnerships.html | CNBC in Asia Pacific Appoints Vice President, Business Development and Partnerships | CNBC in Asia Pacific Appoints Vice President, Business Development and Partnerships
Singapore, 5 October 2009 -- CNBC, First in Business Worldwide, in Asia Pacific today announced the appointment of Tan Wee Tuck as the Vice President, Business Development and Partnerships effective immediately. Tan will report to Satpal Brainch, President and Managing Director of CNBC Asia Pacific. Tan, who will be based in Singapore, will spearhead the network’s business development and partnership unit in the region. In this capacity, Tan will oversee CNBC’s efforts to build up business opportunities for the network in the Asia Pacific region. He is also responsible for managing relations and developing new opportunities with CNBC’s current partners in Asia Pacific, as well as building strategic partnerships with other potential associates in the region.Tan joined CNBC in 2003 as Chief Financial Officer of Asia Pacific and later as CFO for NBCU Global Networks Asia. He was responsible for all aspects of the finance function and also played a key role in the strategic direction of both businesses. His experience in finance, audit and international logistics spans a broad range of industries from consumer electronics to reinsurance to healthcare.Prior to CNBC, Tan served as Manager, Financial Planning and Analysis, GE Medical Systems China, based in Beijing. During his seven years with the General Electric Company, he held a variety of leadership finance positions across several industries and global locations.“We’re excited to have Wee Tuck head Business Development and Partnerships for CNBC across Asia Pacific,” said Brainch. “He has been an integral part of the team for the past 6 years and has done a tremendous job as Asia’s Chief Financial Officer. I am confident that Wee Tuck’s experience and knowledge of the CNBC brand will expand our reach and drive continued growth in the region.”Tan holds a MBA from the Nanyang Business School and a BA in Economics and Psychology from the National University of Singapore. He is also a Singapore Chartered professional accountant.About CNBC Asia PacificCNBC, First in Business Worldwide, provides fast, accurate, unbiased, actionable business and financial news to over 340 millions households worldwide. CNBC in Asia Pacific is uniquely positioned to speak to viewers from across the region. Headquartered in Singapore, the network provides nine and a half hours of live Asia-produced programming, which is complemented with coverage of live market action from Europe and the US. CNBC Asia Pacific's channels, which include CNBC Asia, CNBC-TV18 (India), CNBC Pakistan, Nikkei-CNBC (Japan) are available in more than 21 countries across the Asia Pacific region. CNBC also has a strategic alliance with Shanghai Media Group, which wholly owns a subsidiary, China Business Network. The channels are distributed via satellite, cable and terrestrial broadcast networks, as well as broadband. CNBC content is also distributed on the 3G platform through selective markets. For more information, please visit us athttp://asia.cnbc.com
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c8afce6ea28e59f32d5f83ade4730b60 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/28/cnbcs-checkerboard-programming-for-the-week-of-november-9th-all-times-are-et.html | CNBC'S CHECKERBOARD PROGRAMMING FOR THE WEEK OF NOVEMBER 9TH (ALL TIMES ARE ET) | CNBC'S CHECKERBOARD PROGRAMMING FOR THE WEEK OF NOVEMBER 9TH (ALL TIMES ARE ET)
Mon, 11/9:
8PM & 12AM -- The NEW Age of Walmart
9PM & 1AM -- The Business of Innovation #1 - Reshaping Cities
10PM -- Marijuana Inc: Inside America's Pot Industry
Tue, 11/10:
8PM & 12AM -- Big Mac: Inside the McDonald's Empire
9PM & 1AM -- Executive Vision #2 - Retail: Navigating the New Leadership Landscape
10PM -- Porn: Business of Pleasure
Wed, 11/11:
8PM -- Marijuana Inc: Inside America's Pot Industry
9PM, 10PM, 12AM & 1AM --Coca-Cola: The Real Story Behind the Real Thing
Thu, 11/12:
8PM -- Coca Cola: The Real Story Behind the Real Thing
9PM & 12AM -- Warren Buffett and Bill Gates: Keeping America Great
10PM & 1AM -- Biography on CNBC #6 - Bill Gates
Fri, 11/13:
10PM & 1AM -- American Greed #3About CNBC:CNBC is the recognized world leader in business news, providing real-time financial market coverage and business information to more than 340 million homes worldwide, including more than 95 million households in the United States and Canada. The network's Business Day programming (weekdays from 5:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m. ET) is produced at CNBC's headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., and also includes reports from CNBC news bureaus worldwide. Additionally, CNBC viewers can manage their individual investment portfolios and gain additional in-depth information from on-air reports by accessing http://www.cnbc.com.Members of the media can receive more information about CNBC and its programming on the NBC Universal Media Village Web site at http://nbcumv.com/cnbc/.
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9ee6dd0ffc1a3f06accbb7e62fc9cb7e | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/28/cnbcs-new-green-reality-tv-series-premieres-5-november.html | CNBC's new 'green' reality TV series premieres 5 November | CNBC's new 'green' reality TV series premieres 5 November
The Good Entrepreneur, a new ‘green’ reality series, will premiere on 5 November at 23.00 CET on CNBC, the leading pan-EMEA business and financial news channel. Hosted by CNBC’s Steve Sedgwick, the four-part series will see three entrepreneurs pitch eco-friendly business concepts to a panel of leading CEOs and academics, each competing for a prize package valued at €250,000. The series will air across Europe, the Middle East and Africa and South East Asia.
The series will follow each entrepreneur’s journey towards making their business a reality. They will meet mentors, including business executives and academics, who will offer advice and identify the strengths and weaknesses of their business proposals.
In the series premiere, viewers will meet the show’s first contender, UK based architect Craig White. Craig’s business idea, to build modular buildings out of straw bales, could see homes and commercial buildings save up to 85% of heating costs. Craig travels to London, Berlin and Lund in Sweden on his quest to gain business insight. The episode includes a rare media appearance by Dennis Jönsson, President & CEO of packaging giant, Tetra Pak, who gives Craig advice.
Two of the show’s judges, Jean-Philippe Courtois, President of Microsoft International, and Professor Sir David King, SmithSchool of Enterprise and Environment, University of Oxford, will also feature in the first programme.
Episode two (12 November at 23.00 CET) features Maltese inventor and mountaineer Marco Cremona. Marco, who stepped off a trek up the Himalayas to take part in the series, plans to launch a system to save precious water reserves by installing on-site waste water recycling plants in large hotels. Marco manages to keep his cool throughout meetings with social entrepreneur and Founder and Chairman of Solarcentury, Jeremy Leggett,in London and survived a tough grilling from veteran print and broadcast journalist Liam Halligan, former correspondent at the Financial Times and Channel 4 News and now Chief Economist at Prosperity Capital Management.
Also featured in this episode are the competition’s judges Dr. Armin Sandhövel, CEO of Allianz Climate Solutions and Reid Hoffman, CEO of LinkedIn.
Episode three (19 November at 23.00 CET) introduces the final contender, Mathew Holloway, whose innovative air cooling system not only looks stylish, but is built from eco-friendly materials and uses just 10% of the power consumed by traditional air-conditioning systems, thus providing a potentially huge reduction in carbon emissions for buildings around the world. Mathew travels to Berlin, Copenhagen and London, where he meets city high-flyer Andy Brough of Schroder Investment Management, who has made a name for himself as one of the top fund managers in the UK.
Viewers also meet the final judge, President & CEO of GE International, Nani Beccalli-Falco, and take a look back at the series so far.
In the series finale, which airs on 26 November at 23.00 CET and will be filmed in front of a studio audience, each contestant will draw upon the advice and expertise they’ve gained from their mentors and pitch their idea to the panel of judges. The judges will interrogate each finalist and put each idea to the test. They will ultimately decide who should be named ‘The Good Entrepreneur of 2009’.
The Good Entrepreneur TV series is the result of a competition organised earlier this year by CNBC and Allianz, one of the world's leading insurers and financial services providers. The competition saw more than 200 entries and aimed to identify an entrepreneur with the best eco-business concept that is sustainable, responsible and innovative.
Visit www.goodentrepreneur.com for more information.
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f3b67c1b26bade9bbb78dd20d045fb1c | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/28/could-stronger-dollar-trigger-market-rally.html | We know what you’re thinking, the market needs a weak dollar to go higher. Well maybe not.
The wisdom in the market right now is that a weak dollar provides a tailwind for stocks.
At the risk of sounding like a broken record that’s largely because it drives commodity prices higher. Then, energy shares and natural resource names follow along.
VIDEO0:0000:00Street Fight
It also benefits multi-nationals as they repatriate profits back into dollars. (They get more dollars for every euro, etc.)Well, maybe it’s time for the wind to change direction – or to re-think that wisdom. Gary Kaminsky, the former Neuberger Berman managing director says “a stronger dollar does not equal a weaker market.”And he’s far from alone. In fact, Bespoke research shows that equities do better when the dollar rallies. During the last 5 dollar bull markets the average return on the S&P was 59%.
That’s largely because the stronger dollar signals strength in the US economy. And it generates new sectors of leadership. Typically, the industrials, airlines and retailers all benefit as the dollar gains. And it keeps a lid on prices at the pump – arguably the most important influence of all.If we are heading into a period of dollar strength, what must you know?
I’d reposition my portfolio with some of the consumer names that benefit such as Proctor and Gamble as well as the airlines that benefit as oil comes down. And I’d consider the UUP, the ETF that tracks the dollar. says Kaminsky.
Especially, if you own energy and commodity related stocks I’d definitely put a hedge on and you can do it with the UUP, Kaminsky adds.
What do you think? We want to know!
______________________________________________________Got something to to say? Send us an e-mail at fastmoney-web@cnbc.com and your comment might be posted on the Rapid Recap. If you'd prefer to make a comment but not have it published on our website send those e-mails to .
Trader disclosure: On October 28th, 2009, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC’s Fast Money were owned by the Fast Money traders; Seymour Owns (AAPL), (BAC), (BX), (EEM), (INTC), (MSFT), (FXI); Najarian Owns (BX) Call Spread; Najarian Owns (EXPE) Calls
Najarian Owns (GE) Calls; Najarian Owns (LAZ) & (LAZ) Puts; Najarian Owns (MYL); Najarian Owns (RIMM) Call Spread; Najarian Owns (YHOO) & (YHOO) Puts; Terranova Owns (IBM), (QCOM), (GS); Finerman Owns (PDE), (TGT), (WMT), (BAC); Finerman's Firm Owns (BAC) Preferred; Finerman's Firm Owns (PDE), (PBR), (RIG); Finerman's Firm Is Short (IJR), (MDY), (SPY), (IWM), (USO), (UNG);For Deborah WeinswigCiti Owns (TGT) Citi Has Received Compensation for Investment Banking from (TGT) (TGT) Has Been A Client Of Citi in the Past 12 Months Citi Has Acted As Manager Of An Offering of Securities of (WMT) Citi Has Received Compensation for Investment Banking from (WMT) (WMT) Has Been A Client Of Citi in the Past 12 Months Citi Is Market Maker in Shares of (WMT) ForRich RepettoSandler O'Neill Expects To Receive Compensation from (CME) Sandler O'Neill Expects To Receive Compenation from (NYX) For Brian KellyKelly Owns (QCOM) Kelly Owns (ORCL) CNBC.com with wires
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b337fba88294a2612d84a9454a0570a0 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/28/credit-card-stocks-analysts-picks-and-pans.html | Credit Card Stocks: Analyst's Picks and Pans | Credit Card Stocks: Analyst's Picks and Pans
Visa reported strong earnings that topped last year's and outstripped Wall Street forecasts. Craig Maurer, equity analyst at Calyon Securities, discussed his outlook on the firm and other credit card companies going forward.
VIDEO0:0000:00Visa Earnings Analysis
“We saw Visa posting very strong results and they’re talking about October trends improving to a positive 3 percent in U.S. payment volume, which is material improvement to what we’ve seen all year,” Maurer told CNBC.
Maurer said there are some “headwinds turning to tailwinds” for the credit card company, in terms of gasoline prices and currency exposure due to the weakening dollar.
Maurer weighed in on American Express.
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“They were very aggressive in cashing money into Florida, California, Nevada. We had made a guess back in January when we upgraded AmEx, stating that because of their concentration on clearly the worst markets in the U.S., that those markets would bottom faster and their credit quality would turn the corner at least 6 months ahead of the group—and that’s what we’re seeing with AmEx,” he said.
Bookmark CNBC Data Pages:
Dow 30 Stocks—In Real Time Where's the US Dollar Today?Complete Earnings Coverage
“We want to see things with secular growth or transactionary growth that isn’t necessarily related to taking spread on lending, that is expensive for the balance sheet and risky long term,” he said.
“We’d rather be in something like Visa or MasterCard where global growth will continue for many years, providing high topline growth without the need to materially grow expenses for a lot of income statement leverage.”
Maurer Likes:
Visa
MasterCard
American Express
Maurer Dislikes:
Discover
______________________________CNBC Slideshows:
American Cost of Living: How Much For a T-Bone Steak?
______________________________
______________________________ Disclosure:
Maurer does not own shares of Visa. Affiliate of Calyon Securities received compensation from MasterCard for non-investment banking products services in the past 12 months.
______________________________
Disclaimer
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90530f9c9fae9c0470c5604995cc354d | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/28/cubs-deal-a-financing-miracle.html | Cubs Deal: A Financing Miracle? | Cubs Deal: A Financing Miracle?
When Sam Zell announced he'd be selling the Chicago Cubs in 2007, many had speculated that the winning bid would be in the $1 billion range. But that didn't account for the fact that during the long drawn out negotiations, a huge economic crisis would hit, freezing up credit markets and making financing for a prospective owner a harder task.
In the end, the deal, which closed yesterday was for a Major League Baseball record price of $845 million.
The new owners, the Ricketts family, got $450 million of that financed, a great feat in this marketplace.
To find out the inside story of the deal, we spoke to Jon Oram, a partner with Proskauer Rose who represented the three banks that financed the deal — JP Morgan , Citibank and Bank of America .
We also talked to Scott Milleisen, vice president of the sports lending division at JP Morgan, which was the lead bank on the Ricketts side.
A Bitter and Expensive Dodgers Divorce
Oram: From the first day of this deal to the last it was over 1,000 days and we had a financial crisis in the middle of this transaction. There was definitely concern about pulling off the financing when the bids came due. We knew that not many people had $1 billion in equity, so there needed to be some financing. In the end, the Cubs brand and the right family behind it, allowed us to get $450 million in financing on a rate that's as attractive as one could get. It definitely says to people looking to buy sports franchises that the banks are open for business and can pull off big deals like this.
Milleisen: We had everyone, all the way up to the top executives at JP Morgan, interested in helping to get this deal done. It's certainly a record amount in terms of financing for a baseball team and might actually be a record amount for any US franchise. A better indication than the $450 million number might be the fact that we raised between $1 billion and $2 billion and had to actually give people less of the deal than they wanted.
Questions? Comments? SportsBiz@cnbc.com
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4aa331c4c8a93d1f077601e006727712 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/28/do-your-customers-love-you.html | Do Your Customers Love You? | Do Your Customers Love You?
AP
One of my colleagues here at CNBC, Christina Cheddar Berk writes the fabulous Consumer Nation Blog and recently she posted, "Don't believe the drop in consumer confidence. Shoppers may be more willing to spend again soon."
Ho Ho Ho - looks like it's going to be a jolly season.
Christina says her sources tell her there are five reasons for the new optimism including the fact that foot traffic is up - shoppers are returning to their old favorites - and are discovering some new ones in the process.
So what are you doing to welcome those customers back — are you ready to show some love? That's the subject of today's Guest Author Blog.
Guest Author Blog
Guest Author Blog: Do Your Customers Love You by Jeanne Bliss is the author of “I Love You More Than My Dog” Five Decisions that Drive Extreme Customer Loyalty in Good Times and Bad."
Are customers saying they love you? If they do, it shows; they keep coming back, they recommend you to others, and they are happy to tell others how they feel about you. At yelp, epinions, twitter and hundreds of Web sites every day, customers who are treated well are unabashedly praising companies they, well, love.
“I'm in love with The Container Store - like I go out of my way to try and find a reason to need to go there.” (yelp.com) “Umpqua Bank: They even love my dog there! I wouldn’t trust my money with anyone else.” (yahoolocal.com) “In a way, doing business with CD Baby feels like hanging out with your best buddy. They just make you feel all warm and fuzzy.” (epinions.com) “I drive out of my way for Chick-Fil-A.” (rateitall.com) “Oh, Apple, how I love you. You snuck me into your Genius Bar despite being booked 'till the morrow.”(yelp.com) “You might think that I’m kind of a funny creature, but I’m here to tell you that Customink rocks my world!” (technorati.com) “I Love Netflix. They had a shipping problem on Monday. They didn’t make excuses or try to slide by. They fessed up.” (consumerist.com)
Beloved companies earn the right to their customers’ devotion by making five critical decisions that drive devoted customers and business growth.
1. They decide to BELIEVE. They believe their customers and they believe their employees. The suspend their cynicism and decide on purpose to trust their customers and employees.
For example: Beloved company Griffin Hospital wanted no secrets between themselves and their customers. The traditional approach of medical professionals delivering only select information was taking the power out of the hands of the patient and putting it into the hands of medical professionals. Griffin wanted to balance this lopsided relationship so they decided to make medical records available to patients and their families. Trusting patients with their own records increased patient belief in Griffin Hospital, and contributed to its growth.
2. They decide with CLARITY of purpose. In decision making they align to a clear purpose, to a clear promise, on how they will improve their customers’ lives.
For example: most guarantees put the monkey on the customer’s back to manage a countdown clock on product happiness. That’s because most guarantees have a limit on the amount of time customers have to return a product after its purchase, forcing a transaction-based relationship with customers. Beloved company Zane’s, who sells $13 million in bicycles and supplies from a single store, decided to instead guarantee the happiness of the customer relationship — throwing out the clock. The Zane’s guarantee says “We are going to live up to our promises, no matter what the timing, no matter what the product or service.”
3. They decide to BE REAL, by dropping the corporate veneer and by connecting in a personal way. They encourage their people to bring the best version of themselves to work.
For Example: Beloved company Trader Joe’s wants to be your neighborhood store—a place where people feel welcomed and want to have a personal relationship. That’s why they resisted the decision to install scanners as part of its checkout process for years. Why? Usually a “pinging” noise sounds as each item is scanned and they didn’t want that noise to interrupt the conversations at check-out. They didn’t want technology to limit personal connections. Even though their growing inventory mix eventually pushed them to concede to the technology, it wasn’t until they were absolutely sure the sound of the “ping” from the scanner wouldn’t interrupt the flow of conversation between cashier and customer.
4. They decide to BE THERE, basing their entire operation on customers input when they develop and deliver their products and services.
For example: beloved retailer Zara wants to get a product from idea to market in less than three weeks. This efficient process for bringing in new product is compelling for customers who constantly visit Zara stores. “Fast Fashion” is Zara’s pull: it means having and agility for listening to and responding to customer requests in the marketplace. An item requested by enough customers can be in its stores to accommodate that request within ten days.
5. They decide to SAY SORRY. When things go wrong, they are humble, contrite and they right the wrong.
For example: Netflix, the DVD-by-mail service with 10 million subscribers, experienced a severe technology glitch a few years ago that delayed shipping. Netflix confessed immediately and honestly on their Web site. They followed up with e-mails to make sure all customers heard the news – even to those who hadn’t even noticed the delay. Not only did they fess up, they extended an olive branch by applying a credit to customers on their next billing. New members got their free trials extended.
Do these decisions guide your business decision making on a daily basis? The proof is in the love notes they send: you can earn your customers’ business and become a beloved company by deciding how you will run yours.
Feeling Bullish? Check out these books:
Think Like Einstein To Energize Your PeopleGet Ahead by 'Borrowing Brilliance'Why Workers Behave Like BabiesAfter The Layoffs — Healing the WoundsImpact!: What Every Woman Needs to Know to Go From Invisible to Invincible
______________________________
Author Jeanne Bliss
Jeanne Bliss is the author of “I Love You More Than My Dog” Five Decisions that Drive Extreme Customer Loyalty in Good Times and Bad.
She learned firsthand about the customer bond while working as Chief Customer Officer at Lands’ End under founder Gary Comer.
She went on to hold the chief customer job at Allstate, Coldwell Banker, Microsoft and Mazda.
Now managing partner of Customer Bliss, Jeanne coaches leaders on how to wrap their company’s focus around customer profits.
She is a worldwide keynote speaker on sustaining the energy and effort required to keep pushing that customer rock up the hill.
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b576794bf4eb1a7525147c596a94c077 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/28/economic-freedom-fighters-unite.html | Economic Freedom Fighters, Unite | Economic Freedom Fighters, Unite
Jack Kemp would have fought back, and we must too.
It must be something in the water. The ruling Democrats know their tax-hiking, re-regulating, and big-spending policies have failed to rejuvenate job-creation or reduce the unemployment rate. And yet they persist in trying more of the same.
A recent New York Times editorial acknowledges that the economy is weak, but it pleads for yet another federal stimulus package. The Times editors want another round of unemployment benefits (this would be the third) to subsidize non-work welfarism. They also want more federal spending on state Medicaid — an area that already has been showered with federal taxpayer money to no economic avail since it has nothing to do with economic growth.
Can’t we do better?
Or let’s take the case of Rep. Barney Frank, a smart guy. He told MSNBC that "The right wing took control of government and ruined it. They gave it a bad reputation. Now we are trying on every front to increase the role of government in the regulatory area."
Ah! Re-regulation.
What a great idea.
As I recall, the Soviet Union and old Eastern Bloc tried heavy government control and regulation, and it didn’t work. The people rebelled. They wanted economic freedom; the right to keep their own money; the right to start their own businesses; and the right to climb the ladder of success in a free economy.
Now here’s a counter-thought. The Reagan free-market revolution, which included regulation lite, a sound dollar, and low tax rates, launched a three-decade-long boom. And yes, the Gipper’s policies were copied around the world. (What does Barney Frank know that the rest of the world doesn’t?) Even the communists in China have adopted deregulated free-market capitalism.
The battle between democratic entrepreneurial capitalism and heavy-handed statism has already been won by the economic freedom fighters around the globe. That’s one reason why the capitalist emerging economies in Asia, Eastern Europe, and many parts of Latin America (think Brazil) are challenging U.S. economic supremacy and the American dollar.
Obama Financial Reforms Advance in US Congress
Prodded by the New York Times and other media organs, the Democrats in Congress are going in the wrong direction. They don’t seem to realize that growth and wealth come from individuals and human action, not the heavy footprint of the state.
Here’s another example of drinking from the wrong water. Top administration economist Christina Romer delivered a very gloomy forecast to Congress last week. She said unemployment will remain at a "severely elevated level," and that the U.S. jobs market will stay painfully weak next year. She was just being honest. Ms. Romer, who has written about the benefits of permanent tax cuts to stimulate GDP growth, might in fact be sending a shot across the bow to her fellow Obamacons. She even said the Obama stimulus plan will contribute little to economic growth in 2010. From her own work, she knows that big-government spending and temporary tax credits have no economic-growth power.
So why not try something different? Unfashionable as it may be today, why not go back to the supply-side model of lower marginal tax rates for individuals and businesses, large and small? That’s the model my late dear friend Jack Kemp successfully espoused to President Reagan more than 30 year ago. It’s the incentive model of economic growth. At lower tax rates, where folks keep more of what they earn and invest, greater after-tax rewards spur greater work effort and investment risk. They also boost asset values. This is exactly what the economy needs: a rejuvenated dose of incentives -- permanent incentives.
Think of this: At the same wage level from cost-conscious businesses, a 10 percent personal tax cut provides a handsome after-tax wage-increase incentive that will spur individuals to go back to work -- simply because work will pay more after-tax.
Current Financial Regulation Inadequate: Geithner
When I spoke last week at the launch of the Jack Kemp Foundation in Washington, D.C., I emphasized the supply-side model of a sound dollar, flat tax rates, free trade, limited government, and market-driven solutions for better schooling, more efficient health care, and the amelioration of poverty. Jack Kemp believed in these principles. He believed in growing the economic pie, not redistributing it. And he believed in growing it large. He would have hated today’s notion of a "new normal" of 2 percent growth and high unemployment. He would have argued for the need to give everyone greater economic-empowerment opportunities and incentives. And he would be just as right today as he was when he began his crusade in the mid-1970s.
Kemp’s universal principles have stood the test of time. His was a genuine growth solution, one that is essential to America’s greatness, her boundless optimism, her prosperity, and her success. Today’s anti-growth economic policies would have driven him crazy. And he would have fought back.
That’s the message for economic freedom fighters everywhere: Unite, and throw off your chains. Especially here in America.
More on CNBC.com
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Questions? Comments, send your emails to: lkudlow@kudlow.com
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a881b965946a0e7f0de5cf26dd6caa58 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/28/farr-two-main-problems-with-the-economic-landscape.html | Farr: Two Main Problems With The Economic Landscape | Farr: Two Main Problems With The Economic Landscape
Markets began the week nervous about a large supply of US Treasuries to be auctioned. The main worry was of higher rates if demand for the new debt proved thin. With so much riding on the level of interest rates right now, it should come as no surprise that the markets worry about these monthly auctions. But low and behold, the Treasury auctions were over-subscribed! Investors piled in en masse to purchase these abundant and historically low- yielding securities. Stocks, of course fell on the news.
How to Protect Your Portfolio From A Weak Dollar
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2eedb5a0627fc2526fe2af2e8c7fe7e5 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/28/feds-power-would-be-curtailed-by-financial-reform-bill.html | Fed's Power Would Be Curtailed by Financial Reform Bill | Fed's Power Would Be Curtailed by Financial Reform Bill
Is the Fed's independence for setting monetary policy the next thing to go?
You have to read to the last page, 253, of the regulatory reform bill unveiled Tuesday night to find one of the most historic parts. On that page, the proposed law would amend the Federal Reserve Act to take away the central bank's independent ability to bail out a specific company.
The new rule would require "written concurrence of the Secretary of the Treasury" if the Fed provides any assistance to a specific company.
Moreover, the Fed can't create a unique type of vehicle to bail out a company a la the Maiden Lane investment companies. It has to be from a facility available to all.
Bottom line: the Fed could not have stepped in over those fateful nights and bailed out Bear Stearns or AIG. (For the record, the insurance wrappers for Citigroup and Bank of America would appear to have qualified.)
VIDEO0:0000:00The State of the Independent Fed
How concerned should markets be about this? As with many things to do with the Fed, there are philosophical and practical issues to consider.
Asked about this issue in July, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said its bailouts were all done in close consultation with the Treasury.
Also from a practical standpoint, if the Barney Frank bill becomes law it will give the government authority to resolve these big, systemically important behemoths. So the Fed should not have a need to do weekend bailout gigs.
Philosophically, though, it gets more complicated. Central banks have been acting as the "lender-of-last-resort" apart from politicians for a long time. It's one of the reasons why you have central banks and not just Treasuries: some entity that can cut through the political fog on the eve of disaster and see clearly the need to step in and lend.
Walter Bagehot is famous for writing in the 19th century about the need for central banks "to lend freely" in times of panic. The ability to do so — and the clear understanding that it can — is thought by some economists to actually underpin stability of the financial system. (Some economists argue that all it does is increase the risks that companies take — moral hazard).
Will needing the Treasury secretary's approval of the Fed's ability "to lend freely" in times of panic as the central bank sees fit undermine stability or add to it?
Finally, once you give the Treasury secretary approval over emergency lending to an individual company, where does it end? Couldn't you make the same argument that the Treasury should have approve of monetary policy?
Don't laugh. Some in Congres think they should have the ability to audit the Fed's monetary-making process, something the Fed is fighting.
No easy answers, but clearly stuff Congress should consider before changing the Federal Reserve Act.
Slideshow: Central Banker Report Cards
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9da059021458663676ffa554e6da6556 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/28/first-solar-shares-take-hit-as-sales-disappoint.html | First Solar Shares Take Hit as Sales Disappoint | First Solar Shares Take Hit as Sales Disappoint
First Solar reported quarterly sales that fell well short of what the Street was expecting, punishing the company's stock in late trading Wednesday.
The company gave a full fiscal 2009 revenue projection of between $1.98 billion to $2.03 billion—which is at the high end of the previously provided guidance range—but that wasn't enough to buoy the firm's stock.
The solar energy bellwether earned $1.79 in its third quarter on sales of $481 million, compared with $1.20 a share on sales of $349 million in the same period last year.
Analysts who follow First Solar expected the company to turn in a profit of $1.74 a share on sales of $529 million, according to a consensus from Thomson Reuters.
First Solar shares dove more than 15 percent in extended trading Wednesday. They closed at $151.58.
Get After-Hour Quotes for First SolarSlideshow: America's Greenest Companies
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d77c80bdf28502ad42f89979d700f8c6 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/28/four-sectors-most-likely-to-lead-the-market.html | Four Sectors Most Likely To Lead The Market | Four Sectors Most Likely To Lead The Market
As the US economic recovery looms larger, the gray cloud that has hung over the stock market for so long is finally starting to fade.
Recovery sign
So whether you’re making broad sector bets or picking individual stocks, now is the time to put your money back to work and start rebuilding your hard-hit portfolio.
“The recovery has just started," says Bob Froehlich, senior managing director at The Hartford. The Dow’s move "from 6,600 to 10,000 is giving us back what we should have had in the first place,” He expects the Dow Industrials to hit 11,000 by the end of 2009 and 13,000 by the end of 2010.
Economy: In Focus
“Through the next 14 months there are a couple of sectors that are going to lead us through this recovery,' says Froehlich.
FinancialsFinancial services is one. Because it has been so beaten down with investors overreacting to the economic fallout, financials "are positioned better than any other industry."
An expected uptick in mergers and acquisitions, combined with increased IPO activity and a steepening of the yield curve also bode well for financials—especially firms with investment banking franchises.
Sam Dedio, senior portfolio manager and head of U.S. equity at Artio Global Investors, is not quite as bullish on the financial sector as a whole, but he believes there is some opportunity for smaller banks, non-banking firms and diversified financials.
WSFS Financial , a regional bank based in Delaware, is one example.
“We think they have weathered this period better than others and will gain share as some of their competitors have been weakened,” he says.
Sam Stovall, chief equity strategist with Standard & Poor’s, says that as a result of the 2008 meltdown, the financial services sector has fallen out of their higher quality rankings – which assigns high scores to companies with above average consistency in raising earnings and dividends, dividend yields of 3 percent or more and a buy or strong buy recommendation from their analysts.
However, within the sector one name he does like is Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust , an equity REITs with a focus on retail shopping malls and power centers.
Technology
This sector also has the potential to remain a market leader.
“I think the tech sector will be even better in 2010 than in 2009, says Froehlich, who adds, “technology tends to do well when the global economy is doing well.”
Referring to the bursting of the tech bubble and the September 11th terrorist attacks, Froehlich says, “we dealt with two dramatic crises in the U.S. which stopped the tech sector from rebuilding. We are doubly overdue for a replacement cycle within technology.”
The thinking is that going forward companies with money on their balance sheets will be more likely to spend it on technology than new hires.
Complete Stock Market Coverage
Dedio, who has been overweight in tech for awhile, says he has started to scale back a bit because he thinks “a lot of the early money has been made.”
There are still some pockets that he expects will do well. One is Integrated Device Technology , a company that he says hasn’t really benefited yet from the recovery yet.
While the company has lagged thus far, he says it is leveraged to PC cycle, and with Intel reporting good quarterly results, it will help IDT going forward.
He also likes Microchip Technology, which he considers a good dividend play (the yield is over 5 percent) with 20-percent potential upside in the stock price.
Stovall—who notes that technology stocks rank pretty low based on their criteria with 60 percent of technology stocks coming in below average, mainly because they don’t offer a dividend—says Linear Technology, a semiconductor company that designs, manufactures and markets a line of standard linear integrated circuits, is attractive.
Industrials
This is another sector that has the economic cycle in its favor.
“If this is a bona fide recovery, at some point the industrials will be among top three of four sectors in the Russell 2000,” says Dedio. “We are making sure we have a modest overweight in industrials now and have been adding to that."
Dedio likes Mueller Water Products , a play on water infrastructure that will benefit from stimulus plan spending on new or rebuilt water systems.
Stovall notes the industrial sector ranks second in terms of the greatest percentage of companies with above average earnings and dividend-quality ranking.
One name that scores particularly well is Caterpillar .
Health Care
Dedio is also overweight in this area.
“Health care is a defensive play,” he says, but is quick to add some areas can still be very risky.
Dedio generally doesn’t invest in companies that are non-earners, such as drug developers that are far away from profitability.
At the moment, he favors diagnostic companies and orthopedic companies, such as Myriad Genetics . This molecular genetics diagnostics company makes a blood test that is used to detect gene mutations within people who have a high risk of certain types of cancers.
Myriad, he says, not only dominates its market but has great margins. It is also benefiting from the increased medical focus on early detection.
As a group, Stovall says health care ranks fairly low, largely because of increased regulation. In addition, he says, “we have seen a lot of major pharmaceutical companies…with dwindling product pipelines.”
Johnson & JohnsonAP
One name that does rank well is Johnson and Johnson.
Other Areas
Other stocks, representing a variety of sectors, also place high on Stovall’s list.
In the consumer staples sector, which is currently the highest ranking sector, there is Altria Group.
In the energy and materials sectors—both of which are very commodity oriented and are at the mercy of the economic expansion and geo-political events—Chevron and PPG Industries score well.
In utilities, which rank below average as a group, Stovall likes Florida Power and Light . And in telecom, which also ranks fairly low, he likes CenturyTel . "I think because the sector has gone through a few personality changes." muses Stovall.
Global View
When looking at stocks, financial advisors say investors should also be sure to include non-U.S equities on their list.
“In terms of positioning globally, I would have 40 percent of assets in the U.S. and 60 percent in stocks outside U.S., " says Froehlich. "The story outside the U.S. will be better.”
He recommends 90 percent of that be allocated to emerging markets, particularly China, Brazil and Eastern Europe. To get this kind of exposure, a good option would be a diversified emerging markets ETF.
While there are various segments so the market that are likely to perform well as a whole, Stovall warns that the important thing is to invest in solid companies.
“Always pay up for quality because you’ll never be disappointed.”
World Markets
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51982081c3a96926ab7e70e66d40c582 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/28/google-hones-music-search-leaving-apple-out.html | Google Hones Music Search, Leaving Apple Out | Google Hones Music Search, Leaving Apple Out
Google on Wednesday announced its much-anticipated new music search, which will allow users to quickly find songs, sample them and buy them. The big surprise is who is NOT featured: Apple's iTunes. A host of speculation last week anticipated Google would feature Apple's iTunes store and Amazon's MP3 download service. But in fact the companies Google is putting in the spotlight are MySpace and its recently acquired iLike music recommendation service and independent Lala.com.
Google says two of its top ten search queries are music related, so it's trying to help users connect with the music they're looking for faster than ever. Type in lyrics or the name of a song or band and MySpace's iLike and Lala.com will provide audio samples directly on the search results page as well as links to buy full songs on their sites. (As of last week MySpace announced it will allow users to buy songs through iTunes as well as Amazon.com .)
Music discovery is another big element of Google's new search, aiming to help users find the songs they're looking for and other songs they might like. The search giant is also teaming with Real Networks Rhapsody subscription service as well as music discovery services Pandora and iMeme, to provide links to songs related to queries.
Who wins? Google should drive more search traffic, generating more opportunities for search ads. News Corp's MySpace, which is trying to establish itself as a leader in the music space also gets a great opportunity to access the massive number of eyeballs Google could drive its way. And LaLa, Rhapsody, Pandora and iMeme all get more potential users.
The fact that Apple's iTunes, which dominates digital music sales, isn't featured front and center is notable. For one thing iTunes isn't a Web site, it's an application that needs to be downloaded to your desktop, so logistically, including it in this kind of model would be tough. Google told me that if they could link to an iTunes Web page where users could easily listen to or buy a song without downloading anything, they'd be open to it. The question is whether all this new traffic to sites like Rhapsody and Pandora will take a bite out of Apple's market share.
But the company that could suffer the most from Google's new introduction is Microsoft's Bing . As the flashy new search service gains market share, Google's new music search could be exactly the kind of function to keep even the most fickle consumers loyal to Google.
Questions? Comments? MediaMoney@cnbc.com
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fca3f684adb5ca83e4f466a564c5d918 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/28/high-foreclosure-rates-spread-into-new-metro-areas.html | High Foreclosure Rates Spread into New Metro Areas | High Foreclosure Rates Spread into New Metro Areas
It comes as no surprise that metro areas like Las Vegas, Nev. and Fort Myers, Fla. had the highest foreclosure rates in the country—they've been high for some time.
Foreclosed Home
But high foreclosure rates are now moving into metro areas that previously avoided the problem, according to a new report from RealtyTrac, an online foreclosure marketplace.
“Rising unemployment and a new variety of mortgage resets continued to gradually shift the nation’s foreclosure epicenters in the third quarter away from the hot spots of the last two years and toward some metro areas that had avoided the brunt of the first foreclosure wave,” said James J. Saccacio the chief executive officer of RealtyTrac in a statement.
Among those new hot spots were Boise City-Nampa, Idaho which saw a 142 percent increase in foreclosures in the third quarter compared with the same period a year ago. Other new foreclosure hot spots include Provo-Orem (120 percent increase) and Salt Lake City (105 percent increase) metro areas, both of which are in Utah.
And in California, the Chico metro area saw a 98 percent increase in its foreclosure rate during the third quarter, the largest year-over-year increase in the state.
Leading the nation was the Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev. metro area, where one in every 20 households received a foreclosure notice in the third quarter. Foreclosure notices are defined as a default notice, bank repossession or auction sale notice.
Following Las Vegas-Paradise in the top five were Merced, Calif., Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla., Stockton, Calif., and Modesto, Calif.
The metro area with the lowest foreclosure rate in the country was Utica-Rome, N.Y., where one in every 5,441 households received a foreclosure notice.
To see which states ranked in the top ten, click here.
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ad2aa84e2ac0341a89c97d4cc0663691 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/28/if-this-is-a-correction-how-far-will-stocks-fall.html | If This Is a Correction, How Far Will Stocks Fall? | If This Is a Correction, How Far Will Stocks Fall?
Stocks fell last weekand have continued to slide this week, prompting speculation that this may be the beginning of a correction.
A correction is typically a drop of 10 percent or more from the most recent high.
Economist David Rosenberg said on CNBC yesterday that the market has become overheated since rebounding off its March low and "is overvalued by at least 20 percent."
If this is the beginning of a correction, how far do you think stocks will fall?
Cast your vote in our poll. Plus, offer your comments below.
More From CNBC.com:
Goldman Sachs Cuts Third-Quarter GDP ForecastStocks to Lose 5-10% Then Move Higher Market Is Overvalued by 20%: RosenbergStocks Still Have Upside MomentumMarkets Will be Higher by Year-EndSlideshow: 20 Stocks With Potential To Drop
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f5f9444c97d801e6f91e759688ebc713 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/28/it-pays-to-be-a-rat-in-chicago.html | There Must Be A Pony In Here Somewhere | There Must Be A Pony In Here Somewhere
If you live in Chicago, you’d better watch your back: The city is offering a reward to informants who turn in businesses cheating on their taxes, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
AP
On the other hand, if you’re a business owner and your rival is cheating on his taxes, let’s just say Santa came a little early this year.
If you’re going to rat out a tax cheat, your best bet is to go big: The reward is going to be calculated as a percentage of the tax money recovered.
"It's just another way of bringing people into compliance," said Revenue Department spokesman Ed Walsh.
Yeah, all you have to do is make them an offer they can't refuse.
More From CNBC.com:
'Pull the Plug' on Problem BanksHonchos of the Financial Collapse: Where Are They Now?Investment Banker to Street Vendor: Welcome to the New Economy
Questions? Comments? Write to ponyblog@cnbc.com.
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05b2b5cd695a292b45318815955beffe | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/28/its-time-to-take-risks-are-you-ready.html | 'It's Time To Take Risks' — Are You Ready? | 'It's Time To Take Risks' — Are You Ready?
“It’s time to take risks … when consumers are ready to spend again, we will be ready”—Jim Fielding, president of Disney Stores Worldwide on a purported overhaul of his company's retail outlets in Europe and the U.S., quoted in the New York Times.
CNBC.com
Anyone out there feeling like they're willing to take a $340 million bet on the turnaround being right around the corner?
That's approximately how much Disney is thinking about shelling out on an overhaul its retail outlets, right now, in the very midst of a recession that has seen consumer spending drop off a cliff.
Seems like the folks at Disney have found the "spend money to make money" section in their business playbooks—with many of the plays apparently being drawn by Apple CEO and Disney board member Steve Jobs (he got his seat on the board as part of the deal that made Pixar a Disney property). The likely result: a fleet of stores—which may or may not wind up being rebranded to boot—"more akin to cozy entertainment hubs" than some of the existing "dog’s breakfast"-resembling outlets.
Highlights, according to the Times, are likely to include lots of innovations plus tricks imported from Apple's stores: free-floating, receipt-machine-toting staff members with the ability to let you pay for products anywhere in the store; personalized interactive displays and hidden tricks such as "magic" mirrors; even a "scent component" to complete the experience. So enticing are the stores rumored to be, some Disney execs tried to resist them on the grounds that "parents would try to use the stores as day care centers."
Regardless of how you might feel about the House of Mouse, or your excitement level over its attempts to get adults to spend money by getting kids hooked on their products, the fact remains that Disney is one of the few companies out there right now that seems to be trying something new in an attempt to grow out of the recession. And, as evidence from previous recessions has taught us, companies that show foresight and take risks during down cycles tend to emerge strongest and grow fastest when the up cycles inevitably follow.
(Another example of the company's commitment to unusual strategies is the "Give a day, get a Disney day" programit's running just now. Not many companies offer free product during a recession—even if it is in return for a day of community service—but the brand-building potential behind it is phenomenal, and likely to be remembered even after the recession is over.)
Clearly, Disney is a company with designs on a successful future—and rather than sit around waiting for evidence that things are getting better, it's going on faith that good times are bound to return, and ensuring that it'll be ready to meet demand in new and exciting ways, and with a strong brand identity thrown in for good measure. That means it'll be leaps and bounds ahead of would-be competitors who have chosen to sit on their hands (or, more likely, their checkbooks) when those prized consumer dollars start flowing once again.
In addition to the strategic benefits of its current maneuvers, any money Disney does spend just now is likely to go further than it would have prior to the recession, or is likely to once general spending picks up. Anyone who's been in a mall recently will know how much further a theoretical dollar will go on many of the products there—as demand has dropped, so have prices. The same paradigm is at work for the companies that fill those mall units as well, with the service providers Disney will need to refit its stores all likely to be able to offer better deals than in recent years. And, while a representative of mall operator Simon Property Group declared that “no one comes in here and dictates terms,” a company with Disney's clout is likely eyeing the number of empty retail units across the country and coming to a different conclusion.
Of course, it could all backfire.
There's every chance that we could get the double-dip recession and accompanying chaos so many are predicting, and the execs responsible will find themselves facing some tough questions over their decision-making during this period.
But if it all goes well, it has "future management case study" written all over it.
More Executive Strategies on CNBC.com:Where To Find A Job NowToday's Riskiest JobsExecutive Career Strategies
________________________________Phil Stott is a staff writer at Vault.com in New York. Originally from Scotland, he has also lived and worked in Japan, South Korea and Eastern Europe. He holds an MA in English Literature and Modern History, and a Masters in Research in Civil Engineering, both from the University of Dundee.
Comments? Send them to executivecareers@cnbc.com
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5f98f47d668cea936dc5dad34a67c69f | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/28/keep-spending-we-are-in-economic-war-blanchflower.html | Keep Spending, We Are In Economic War: Blanchflower | Keep Spending, We Are In Economic War: Blanchflower
While more and more voices warn about inflation, David Blanchflower, the US academic and former member of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee, worries that governments will pull back from fiscal and monetary stimulus too early.
VIDEO6:1906:19After the Wall of Money
Blanchflower is no stranger to controversy. His time at the UK central bank saw him fall out with Bank of England governor Mervyn King, as they argued about when to cut rates as the credit crisis hit.
“In a war when someone’s just invaded your country you don’t say we can’t fight because we can’t pay for it. We are in an economic war," Blanchflower told "Europe Tonight."
"The debt is not what is killing us, it’s the financial shock that is killing us," he added. "And anyone who knows anything about economics knows you don’t cut spending in one of the worst recessions you’ve seen. You wait for the growth phase and then do something.”
Watch the first part of Blanchflower's appearance on Europe Tonight above, the second part here >>> and the third part here >>>
Blanchflower believes inflation is simply not an issue and is far more worried about deflation. He points out that whilst hyper inflation is something we have experienced a few times in the last century, there has been no hyper deflation.
This, the former Bank of England Policy member points out, is why central banks like the Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and the Bank of England are throwing so much money into the system via historically low rates and quantitative easing.
With debt levels so high in the UK and US for both government and consumers Blanchflower believes a little bit of inflation would actually be a good thing as it would help ease the debt burden.
Slideshow: Central Banker Report Cards
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9de572fa9433d282f03592428a4473d9 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/28/lightning-round-oreilly-auto-the-great-ap-ciena-and-more.html | O’Reilly Automotive :Monro Muffler is a better pick, Cramer said.
Ciena : Cramer is bullish on CIEN for the long term.
Cramer's Top 10 Natural Gas StocksCramer's 5 Breakout Bank Stocks
Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. : GAP is a sell, Cramer said.
RF Micro Devices : Buy RFMD, Cramer said.
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Questions for Cramer?
Questions, comments, suggestions for the Mad Money website? madcap@cnbc.com
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a0cfd20201d32e3b6574588e32dcca10 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/28/lightning-round-ot-smith-international-mckesson-and-more.html | Nuance Communications : Stay away from NUAN, Cramer said.
Cramer's Top 10 Natural Gas StocksCramer's 5 Breakout Bank Stocks
McKesson : Cramer is bullish on MCK.
Smith International : SII is a buy, Cramer said.
Central European Distribution : Sell CEDC, Cramer said.
Call Cramer: 1-800-743-CNBC
Questions for Cramer?
Questions, comments, suggestions for the Mad Money website? madcap@cnbc.com
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54f7e1553e2a092d3893cdbea2188648 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/28/listings-for-the-suze-orman-show-on-cnbc.html | LISTINGS FOR "THE SUZE ORMAN SHOW" ON CNBC | LISTINGS FOR "THE SUZE ORMAN SHOW" ON CNBC
(Saturdays at 9:00 p.m. and 12:00 a.m. ET)
Attn: All Listings Editors
All programming subject to change
Covering today's hottest financial topics, "The Suze Orman Show" helps people make the connection between self worth and net worth. In a format that's fast-paced, down-to-earth, and entertaining, Suze candidly tells her audience the truth about money so they can change the course of their financial destiny -to have more and be more. They will also gain Suze's insight on how to protect themselves financially, resulting in personal empowerment that's exemplified in their bank accounts.
11/07/09 -- CNSUZ110709 – LAST CASH SURVIVAL LIST: When you're strapped for cash, where can you go? Suze gives the order of where to look first to keep your head above water. And an all anniversary Can I Afford it to celebrate 3 years of Suze's most popular segment!
11/14/09 -- CNSUZ111409 – WARNING SIGNS OF A BAD ADVISOR: The 5 warning signs your financial advisor doesn't have your best interest at heart. Viewers ask if they can afford joining a swim club, Juvederm.
11/21/09 -- CNSUZ112109 -- HOLIDAY SALE TEMPTATION: Why you shouldn't give in to the sale signs in the windows this season. A sneak peak of Suze's visit to The Biggest Loser! Viewers ask if they can afford a Ferrari, QE2 Cruise.
11/28/09 -- CNSUZ112809 -- HEALTH & WEALTH: Suze talks to Biggest Loser trainer Jillian Michaels about the health-wealth connection. Plus never-before-seen clips of Suze's one-on-ones with Biggest Loser contestants. Viewers ask if they can afford a Chef's jacket from a famous cake maker, a Camaro.
12/05/09 -- CNSUZ120509 -- FEE FRENZY: New Credit Card Fees & interest rate hikes and what you can do about it. Viewers ask if they can afford a week at a health spa, custom closets.
12/12/09 -- CNSUZ121209 -- GET REAL!: What you can do to get real about your money situation. A woman asks for help after she & her husband spent their lives "living for the moment." Viewers ask if they can afford a Tennessee Walking Horse, Wedding China.
12/19/09 -- CNSUZ121909 -- WANTS VS. NEEDS: Rationalizing why you need things. A couple wants a bigger home but doesn't want to short sell their condo. Viewers want to know if they can afford to rebuild a classic Datsun, a cruise for a 16th birthday.
12/26/09 -- CNSUZ122609 -- HAPPY HOLIDAYS!: Suze celebrates with a new "Best calls you've never Heard," plus a look back at her year in jackets! Viewers ask if they can afford a catamaran, a high-end briefcase.
01/02/10 -- CNSUZ010210 -- NEW YEAR, FRESH APPROACH: Suze gives you a new approach to your money for 2010. A follow up on guest Travis who hadn't paid his taxes in 4 years. Viewers ask if they can afford an accordion, a ski pass. And vote for your favorite Lou t-shirt!
01/09/10 -- CNSUZ010910 -- YOUR MONEY 2010: Why taking control of your money & retirement is more important than ever. Viewers ask if they can afford a Vespa, $10K entry fee to the World Series of Poker.
01/16/10 -- CNSUZ011610 -- PEOPLE FIRST, THEN MONEY, THEN THINGS: What Suze really means when she says this. A mother doesn't know how to get her adult son to pay a loan back and get out of her house. Viewers ask if they can afford custom rims, a Tag Heuer watch.About CNBC:CNBC is the recognized world leader in business news, providing real-time financial market coverage and business information to more than 340 million homes worldwide, including more than 95 million households in the United States and Canada. The network's Business Day programming (weekdays from 5:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m. ET) is produced at CNBC's headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., and also includes reports from CNBC news bureaus worldwide. Additionally, CNBC viewers can manage their individual investment portfolios and gain additional in-depth information from on-air reports by accessing http://www.cnbc.com.Members of the media can receive more information about CNBC and its programming on the NBC Universal Media Village Web site at http://nbcumv.com/cnbc/.
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afd6878b15a21a614a9521a307443df4 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/28/market-tips-stocks-still-have-upside-momentum.html | Market Tips: Stocks Still Have Upside Momentum | Market Tips: Stocks Still Have Upside Momentum
Global stocks were lower on Wednesday on worries of the pace of the economic recovery after a dip in U.S. consumer confidence. But experts told CNBC the market still has upward momentum.
Markets Still Have Upside Momentum
The markets still have upside momentum, believes Geoff Lewis, head of investment services at JPMorgan Asset Management. He tells CNBC where he is investing in light of this.
Markets Still in Momentum-Driven Rally
Markets are still in a momentum-driven rally, notes Bhaskar Laxminarayan, Asia CIO at Pictet & Cie. He tells CNBC what could bring this rally to an end.
Market Still Has Momentum
The equity market still has momentum in a powerful cyclical rally, says Jim Awad, managing director of Zephyr Management. He tells CNBC why market may correct more than justified by fundamentals.
Long-Term Bull on Gold
Gold should form the core of a portfolio in times of depression, says Jay Taylor, president & CEO of Taylor Hard Money Advisors.
Yield Differentials are Key
Focus on yield differentials over the next couple of weeks, advises Mike Moran, FX strategist at Standard Chartered.
Outlook for the Shipping Industry
Investors should not associate the performance of the shipping industry with GDP growth, warns Johnson Leung, senior shipping analyst at Tufton Oceanic. Leung also gives his outlook for the sector.
Overweight on Emerging Markets
Go overweight on emerging markets, particularly Asia, advises Bhaskar Laxminarayan, Asia CIO at Pictet & Cie. He explains why, in this installment of "Protect Your Wealth."
Bullish on Japanese Equities
Chisato Haganuma, chief strategist of financial & economic research at Nomura Securities, is positive on the Japanese equity markets. He explains his upbeat outlook.
Focus on Chinese Resources Firm
The current earnings season will see improving results from Chinese resources companies, says Paul Pong, MD of Pegasus Fund Managers. He explains his upbeat outlook.
S&P Has Stable Outlook on China Insurance Sector
S&P has revised its outlook on China's insurance sector to stable, from positive. Connie Wong, senior director, Asia at S&P's Ratings Services, tells CNBC the reasons behind this change in ratings.
HK Markets to Correct Over Short Term
Alex Wong, director of asset management at Ample Capital expects a further correction in the Hong Kong market over the short term.
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4bb44ce9260062dc7bfd3c17306f174d | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/28/no-crossdressing-for-governor-rendell-in-world-series-bet.html | No Cross-Dressing for Governor Rendell In World Series Bet | No Cross-Dressing for Governor Rendell In World Series Bet
Bitter baseball rivals - the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Yankees - will face off in the 2009 World Series, but the rivalry turned political on CNBC’s Squawk Box this week.
“The Yankees will win the World Series in six games,” said New York Governor David Paterson, “and Governor Rendell … should wear the Yankees T-shirt the day after the World Series.”
Video: Paterson Slams Phillies
“We know at least half the people in New York are rooting for the Phillies – all Mets fans – because they hate the Yankees,” replied Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell.
Video: Rendell's Response
The pinnacle was reached Tuesday morning on "Squawk Box" when Gov. Paterson agreed to cross-dress in a Phillies skirt if the Yankees lost the series.
“I won’t have to pay, so I’ll take the bet,” replied a confident Paterson.
Despite his confidence in the Phillies, Rendell turned down the offer when challenged the following day.
“The people of Pennsylvania are ready for a lot of things,” he explained. “… But they’re not ready to see me in … a Yankees skirt.”
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3cb650e3beacb81ad35f1e5dba278d65 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/28/one-credit-card-company-is-set-for-20-growth-analyst.html | One Credit Card Company Is Set for 20% Growth: Analyst | One Credit Card Company Is Set for 20% Growth: Analyst
After reporting a profit of $514 million in the fourth quarter, Rick Shane, an analyst at Jeffries & Co., said Visa is set to grow more than 20 percent going forward.
VIDEO0:0000:00Spotlight on Visa
As a result, he raised his price target on the credit card company to $86 from $80.
"We were expecting a good quarter from Visa, but frankly, we were expecting it with sort of a blah, in-line topline result and good margin expansion," Shane said.
"They beat us very soundly on the topline, and that means there's more earnings power going forward."
More Market Intelligence:
Credit Card Stocks: Analyst's Picks and PansStill Bullish on This Big Financial: Banking Analyst
Along with this potential for growth, Shane said the $2 billion in free cash flow that Visa is guiding to is also significant. The company also has tremendous leverage in terms of operating, with almost 90 cents on every dollar going to its operating line.
"It is very unique to find a company this large, with this level of global penetration, where they can continue to grow earnings the way we expect Visa to," he said.
Shane Also Likes:
American Express
Mastercard
Capital One Financial
______________________________
CNBC Data Pages:
Dow 30 Stocks—In Real Time Oil, Gold, Natural Gas Prices Now Where's the US Dollar Today?
______________________________CNBC Slideshows:
Nations Heavy with Debt20 Stocks Ready to Pop
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______________________________ Disclosures:
Within the past 12 months, Jeffries and/or its affiliates received non-investment banking, securities-related compensation for client services it provided to American Express.
Disclaimer
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f794f051166c39eb0e1ffd36d79e7719 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/28/pisani-markets-need-to-calm-down.html | Pisani: Markets Need to 'Calm Down' | Pisani: Markets Need to 'Calm Down'
So we are approaching the end of the earnings season, earnings are better expectations, but the market is not reacting as well as it did in July, when earnings were also beating expectations.
Technical talk this morning is full of comments punctuated by "Bear Confirm" and "Bull Top" as the percentage of stocks above their 10- and 30-week averages on the NYSE and NASDAQ has begun dropping notably.
Despite this gloom and doom talk, we are only 3 percent off our recent highs! The average correction since the March lows is 4 percent! Calm down!
Elsewhere:
1) SAP is down 8 percent after its Q3 results missed expectations and its full year revenue forecast was cut. Earnings and revenues for the past quarter fell short of estimates as the German business software maker saw weaker demand in emerging markets and Japan.
As a result, the company now expects 2009 revenues to fall 6 percent-8 percent compared to its prior expectation of a 4 percent to 6 percent decline.
2) Ashland (ASH) up 14 percent beat on top and bottom line. "Demand appears to be showing some signs of growth in many end markets."
3) Shares of International Paper rise 3 percent after Q3 earnings and revenues topped estimates as "modest improvements in demand" in some paper and packaging operations helped.
Despite the better-than-expected results, sales were still 13 percent below last year's levels. While industrial packaging sales were only down 4 percent, weak revenues from printing paper (down 18 percent) and distribution (down 20 percent) continued to weigh heavily.
4) Allied Irish Bank and Bank of Ireland down on worries that plans to create a "bad bank" could be delayed.
5) The Mortgage Bankers Association reported mortgage applications fell for the third straight week, slumping 12.3 percent in the last week despite the 30-year mortgage rates remaining steady at just over 5 percent.
Refinancing applications dropped 16.2 percent to a two-month low while purchase applications fell 5.2 percent to their lowest level since May as the looming expiration of the first-time homebuyer tax credit weighed.
6) It's been a tough couple months for IPOs, but Vitamin Shoppe priced above its offering: 9.1 million at $17 a share, above the price talk of $14-$16.
More importantly, a much bigger deal should price tonight: AEI , which operates power and natural gas infrastructure in Latin America, Europe and Asia, is looking to raise about $750 million: 50 million shares at a price range of $14.00 to $16.00.
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The Dow 30 in Real TimeThe CNBC Stock Blog
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Questions? Comments? tradertalk@cnbc.com
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c08928b8b1b09bfd0ab0ec10672df2a6 | https://www.cnbc.com/2009/10/28/pops-drops-arcelormittal-morgan-stanley.html | Following are the day’s biggest winners and losers. Find out why shares of Visa and Harris Corp popped while ArcelorMittal and Morgan Stanley dropped.
POPS (stocks that jumped higher)Visa (V) popped 4%. The credit card name reported strong earnings on cost cutting and more transactions; it also announced a $1 billion stock buyback.
Harris Corp. (HRS) popped 10%. “New orders, revenue and earnings exceeded our expectations in the first quarter as a result of strong performance in both the RF Communications and Government Communications Systems segments," said Howard L. Lance, chairman, president and chief executive officer.
VIDEO0:0000:00Stock Pops & Drops
DROPS (stocks that slid lower)
ArcelorMittal (MT) dropped 4%. The world’s largest steelmaker said third quarter profits fell 76%. - Not so good, says Tim Seymour.
Morgan Stanley (MS) dropped 5%. Financials led Wednesday's slide with weak economic data suggesting that Main Street may have trouble, yet, making mortgage payments and credit card payments. - I'm a buyer at $30, reveals Joe Terranova.
Under Armour (UA) dropped 13%. Needham downgraded the athletic gear maker to ‘underperform’ from ‘hold after the company said sales will remain flat next year. - It's still not cheap, muses Karen Finerman, even here.
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) dropped 6%. The WSJ linked Hector Ruiz, the former CEO of AMD to the insider-trading controversy at Galleon. - That hurts, says Pete Najarian.
PetroChina (PTR) dropped 6%. China’s largest oil company fell after reporting third quarter profits slid 23% due to lower crude prices and weak demand.
BorgWarner (BWA) dropped 7%. Although the auto parts name beat on earnings, they also gave a cautious outlook.
Massey Energy (MEE) dropped 9%. Third quarter revenues fell short of analysts’ estimates; the company also lowered its forecast for coal shipments.
______________________________________________________Got something to to say? Send us an e-mail at fastmoney-web@cnbc.com and your comment might be posted on the Rapid Recap! If you'd prefer to make a comment but not have it published on our website send your e-mail to .
Trader disclosure: On October 28th, 2009, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC’s Fast Money were owned by the Fast Money traders; Seymour Owns (AAPL), (BAC), (BX), (EEM), (INTC), (MSFT), (FXI); Najarian Owns (BX) Call Spread; Najarian Owns (EXPE) Calls
Najarian Owns (GE) Calls; Najarian Owns (LAZ) & (LAZ) Puts; Najarian Owns (MYL); Najarian Owns (RIMM) Call Spread; Najarian Owns (YHOO) & (YHOO) Puts; Terranova Owns (IBM), (QCOM), (GS); Finerman Owns (PDE), (TGT), (WMT), (BAC); Finerman's Firm Owns (BAC) Preferred; Finerman's Firm Owns (PDE), (PBR), (RIG); Finerman's Firm Is Short (IJR), (MDY), (SPY), (IWM), (USO), (UNG);For Deborah WeinswigCiti Owns (TGT) Citi Has Received Compensation for Investment Banking from (TGT) (TGT) Has Been A Client Of Citi in the Past 12 Months Citi Has Acted As Manager Of An Offering of Securities of (WMT) Citi Has Received Compensation for Investment Banking from (WMT) (WMT) Has Been A Client Of Citi in the Past 12 Months Citi Is Market Maker in Shares of (WMT) ForRich RepettoSandler O'Neill Expects To Receive Compensation from (CME) Sandler O'Neill Expects To Receive Compenation from (NYX) For Brian KellyKelly Owns (QCOM) Kelly Owns (ORCL)
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